Joseph Hardy, Founder of 84 Lumber, Dies on 100th Birthday

Hardy, founder of the 84 Lumber chain of building materials stores and developer of the Nemacolin resort, died Saturday on Jan. 7, 2023. (Jordan Millington Liquorice/Courtesy of 84 Lumber Company via AP)

FARMINGTON, Pa.—Joseph Hardy III, founder of the 84 Lumber chain of building materials stores and developer of the Nemacolin resort, has died. He was 100.

A family statement provided by the company said the family had lost its “patriarch and all-around great man.” A profile posted on the company’s website said he passed away on his 100th birthday Saturday ”surrounded by his loving family singing Broadway show tunes to comfort him at his home in Farmington.”

“Many knew Joe as a brilliant businessman and enthusiastic entrepreneur,” said the statement provided by Amy Smiley, 84 Lumber’s vice president of marketing. “Even with his vast success, Joe always remembered what matters most: people. He helped make the American dream real for so many, and he will be greatly missed.”

A funeral service for Hardy, whose survivors include eight children and 15 grandchildren, is scheduled Thursday in Westminster Presbyterian Church followed by full military honors and private interment.