Betty Lee (Smith) Hardt

Betty Lee (Smith) Hardt, left her earthly life behind just a week shy of her 89th birthday.  She was born August 4, 1931, in Hamilton County, Illinois to Roy F. and Vakel M. (Cluck) Smith.  She had eight siblings, five of them being female and if you knew Betty well, you probably heard the story of how she nearly went through life with a boy’s name.  Her father graciously rescued her from such a fate.
Betty graduated from McLeansboro Township High School with the class of 1948, and then attended Washington University Business School in St Louis, Missouri and Brown Business College in North Chicago, Illinois.  Betty was employed at Abbott Laboratories in North Chicago, Illinois at the time she met her future husband, Dallas Hardt, of Portage, Wisconsin.  They married in Portage on August 11, 1951, and together they had four children, Terry, Jerry, Scott, and Julie.  Betty was employed for most of her working career as a secretary, primarily in the legal field.  She also maintained the office for a couple of family businesses, and her last place of employment was Shelby Memorial Center, in Shelbyville, Illinois, where she served as the Activities Director. 
Work, family, and a sense of adventure moved them often throughout the almost 70 years that Betty and Dallas were together.  In retirement, they often rehabbed older homes.  Wherever they went, they always left a home in better shape than when they first arrived.  They were diligent people who embodied the Lord’s command to work with your hands and live a quiet life.
Betty was a talented artist who regularly contributed paintings and sewn creations to local shops for many years in her retirement.  Everything she made had a story that spoke to a treasured history or the beauty of God’s Creation.  She made a point to pass along her love for art to her family.  She was patient in teaching her grandchildren the details of a brush stroke, or how to make something beautiful from scraps of fabric.  She was also a gifted poet and story-teller, and entertained her family with yarns she had made up, hilarious stories about her interactions with local townspeople, or recounted tales of life with her siblings; such as the time her older sisters locked her in the school outhouse as a young girl.  All of her stories had a lesson though, as she was always trying to impart to her family the importance of love for God, love for one another, avoiding trouble (but standing up for what is right), and living a productive life.
Betty is survived by her daughter, Julie Holman and her husband, Joel, of Reeds, Missouri; daughter-in-law, Ronda Hardt, of Bolivar, Missouri; five grandchildren, Jesse Hardt and his wife, Lyndsey, of Rosenberg, Texas, Kristen Johnson and her husband, Matt, of Preston, Missouri, Darren Hardt, of Bolivar, Missouri, Angela Shouse and her husband, Jamie, of Rockwall, Texas and Marisa Hardt of Rosenberg, Texas; seven great-grandchildren, Gage, Rylan, Jett, Dallas, Sophie, May, and Baer; two brothers, Walter L. Smith of Billings, Michigan, and Robert G. Smith (Celia) of Laredo, Texas.
Betty was preceded in death by her parents, Roy and Vakel; sisters Hazel M. Parker, Nina L. Smith (died at birth), Ella M. Johnson, Essie F. Sisk, Laura B. Flannigan, and one brother, John D. Smith; three sons, Terry, Jerry, and Scott Hardt and her loving husband, Dallas.
Though Betty’s presence will be sorely missed, the knowledge of her seeing Jesus face to face is a great comfort.  She leaves behind wonderful memories and a beautiful legacy of love in the hearts of her family.  We could all only hope to be so treasured.
A graveside service, under the direction of the Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home, in Mt. Vernon, Missouri, will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 1, 2020, at the Mount Vernon City Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in memory of Betty, can be made to the Grace Lutheran Church in Aurora, Missouri, in care of the funeral home.