Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
‘I want to hold you In my arms and tell you I love you with all my heart’
Family, friends and colleagues have paid heartfelt tributes to Mr Hardisty, who was muchloved and highly respected in Chilham.
A former Army junior noncommissioned officer who served in Northern Ireland and the Gulf, he lived with his wife Melanie in Felborough Close.
The family told the Gazette: “Paul was tragically and shockingly taken from us on Friday, aged 49.
“Paul was a larger-thanlife character - actively supportive in the community, deeply loving of family and friends, charismatic and devoted. All those who knew him will feel the loss.”
In a moving tribute on her Facebook page, Melanie wrote: “I miss you so much and I want to hold you in my arms and tell you I love you with all my heart.
“I can’t believe we are apart so soon but I promise you that I will get to you in time, but all the angels and God will look after you for me till then. “I know you are watching over me right now and that is comfort. I love you and miss you and my heart is aching and broken.”
Mr Hardisty, who previously lived in Ashford, was a scout leader and supported many good causes.
He was a veterans’ activist, member of the Royal British Legion and disability champion, carrying the Paralympics torch in 2012.
Parish council chairman Paul Lulham said: “Paul was one of those rare breed who selflessly did all he could to help others with no desire for reward or recognition. He was a proud military man who in a short space of time threw himself into village life and made a huge difference in Chilham. His death is a massive shock and loss.”
A tribute to Mr Hardisty was also left on the Facebook page of the White Horse at Chilham, which read: “Paul was a man of the community, selfless, always giving up his free time to help out with local projects. Most recently he cleared the front of the peacock. Our thoughts are with his family at this time.”
Details of the funeral and wake are yet to be released.