Matthew William Hardman, born April 10, 1961, in Columbus, Ohio. The son of the late, Robert W. “Bob” Hardman and Irene L. Harper Hardman; and husband of Nashville recording artist, Sharon Hardman, who survives.
Matt was the Godfather of Raymond (Deb) Bondurant of Logan, John Bondurant and Sandra Bondurant of Pennsville, Ohio. He is also survived by his brothers, Fred D. Hardman of Johnson City, Tennessee and Rev. Dr. Randy (Frankie) Hardman of Starr, Ohio, and many nieces and nephews.
Matt graduated from Logan-Hocking High School, Class of 1979. He studied at Hocking College, Ohio University of Athens, The Ohio State University, and the Praxair school of continuing education.
Matt was very proud of his heritage. On his mother’s side, he was the grandson of two Cherokee Chiefs of the Elk Hanna (Harper) and the Rebeckah Taylor linage. On his father’s side, he was the 8th generation, direct bloodline, of Joseph Michael Hardman II, who was a Revolutionary War soldier and the Aide De Camp to General George Washington. He was a life member of the Sons of the American Revolution (S.A.R.).
Matt became the sound engineer for the Revelations, a Logan based Gospel group in 1980. This is how he met Sharon Crawford. Matt and Sharon were selected as The Logan Daily News Couple of the Year for 1985 and appeared in the June Bridal Edition. They were wed on September 21, 1985. He became Sharon’s personal manager when she received a recording contract out of Nashville and began traveling the U.S. and abroad. Many lives were changed, and souls saved, during these years in ministry.
Matt was a member of the Boy Scout Troop 238 in Union Furnace, Ohio and later became the Assistant Scoutmaster. He worked at Groveport Country Club, Hocking Hills Country Club, Logan Meat Suppliers, Risch Drug Stores, Bi-Rite Welding Supply and retired from Praxair Distribution. He was named a “Who’s Who in American Business” while managing Praxair. He was also very active in conservative politics and worked on many political campaigns for local and presidential candidates.
Matt loved his antique and collector cars, especially the Fords and Lincolns. He founded the Hocking Hills Region of the Performance Ford Club of America, which sponsored the Shake Shoppe Cruise In and the Pizza Hut Cruise In in Lancaster. He received an accommodation from Ford Motor Company Chairman, Bill Ford in 2007, for driving over one million miles in Ford and Lincoln vehicles.
He was a member of the Hocking Valley Historical Vehicle Club, Gideons International, Presidential Pray Team, Hocking County Historical Society, Voices for the Ancestors, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Hocking County Right to Life (as Vise President and President), a twenty-year delegate to the West Ohio Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, and a fifty-year member of the Union Furnace United Methodist Church. He was the Chaplain of Hocking Valley S.A.R. and the assistant Chaplain for the State of Ohio S.A.R. for two years. Matt was ordained as a pastor in 2020.
With their lifelong love of history, one of Matt and Sharon’s joys was restoring their three historical homes, here in Logan. The Holl-Hardman House, Circa 1892, on South Market Street, the Downour-Hardman House, Circa 1865, Stage Road, and the Smith-Jurgensmir-Emerson-Hardman House, Circa 1812, Chieftain Drive.
God gave us a mission to share His love and salvation with everyone we met. Our Ministry is dedicated to His love. God gave me the love of my life and our years were blessed.
Calling hours for Matt were Thursday, June 16, 2022, from 2-4 and 6-8 PM at Heinlein-Brown Funeral Home, Logan, Ohio.
Funeral services were held on Friday, June 17, 2022, at 1:00 PM at the funeral home. Burial was in Knollwood Cemetery, Logan, Ohio.