Susie Hardin, lifelong Memphian, dies at 77
Susie Hardin always said she wanted to work until the day she died.
She was a manager of specimen processing at various different Memphis hospitals, including Regional One and Methodist University, and cared deeply about her job. But even more than she care about her job, she cared about the people she interacted with, both at work and in her personal life.
“She loved to work and one thing she loved to do outside of that was to reap the benefits of said work,” her grandson Arte’vius Hardin said. “Whenever she could, she was always doing for the family, friends and traveling.”
Hardin died of diabetes complications Oct. 2. She was 77.
Hardin, a lifelong Memphian, was also a cruise aficionado, going on more than 70, visiting six of the seven continents despite being diagnosed with multiple myeloma in the late 1990’s.
“She was preparing herself,” Brenda Eddings-joyner, a long-time friend of Hardin, said. “She said ‘well the doctor said, when this hits, this is a cancer that moves fast. So I better do everything I can while I can.
The disease sat dormant for the rest of her life.
Hardin frequently shared her love of travel with others, gifting family members with cruises and trips.
“For my graduation cruise, two of my best friends went along with us,” Arte’vius Hardin said. “So one of her friends and my two friends, and it was their first cruise. She knew that they hadn’t experienced that, and I asked them if they were interested because she presented the idea of it. And we all got to share that moment together.”
Hardin also encouraged friends who were afraid of traveling to take the leap.
“One of the young ladies who spoke at her funeral talked about how Susie talked her into taking her first cruise, and she said she was somewhat afraid of traveling, but now she has a job where she travels to a lot of cities,” Eddingsjoyner said. “She said Susie inspired her. That was one of the reasons that she took the job. Susie said ‘you can make it and you’ll love it.’”
In 1972, Hardin co-founded Sweet Sweet Inspiration Cruise Club,a club for people who loved to travel and Eddingsjoyner said that over the years, more than 100 people were members. Hardin would make friends and invite them to join in every country they visited.
“She was very much so a person who would try and make sure as many people as possible could feel whatever good that she had to offer,” Arte’vius Hardin said.
At one job, Hardin had an employee who she didn’t get along with well. When that person got sick, Hardin didn’t hesitate to give her two weeks of her own paid vacation time.
“That was just a hard thing for me to understand,” Eddings-joyner said. “I said ‘now this girl did everything she could to try and make you lose your job’ and Susie said ‘well, that’s the way life is. The people you help are not the ones that help you.’”
In December, Eddings-joyner is going to go on a cruise. It will be a particularly special cruise, as she will be spreading Hardin’s ashes at sea, just as her friend wanted.
Gina Butkovich covers Desoto County, storytelling and general news. She can be reached at 901-232-6714.