IN MEMORIAM: Paul Hardy

Paul Hardy, a longtime Orkin Pest Control leader and Pest Management Professional Hall of Famer (Class of 2005), columnist and editorial advisory board member, has passed away.

The Certified Pest Control Operators of Georgia notified members of his memorial service. Visitation will take place at the Chapel of Georgia Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery in Marrietta, Ga., on Sunday, Aug. 24, at noon, followed by a memorial service at 2 p.m. Burial will be held on-site.

Born in 1942, and with a ninth-grade education, the Georgia native went from working in the concrete pouring and roofing industries to joining his father in Florida to spray pesticides in orange groves. Hardy worked the night shift spraying pesticides. One of those groves was owned by Sam Walkup Sr., owner of Walkup Exterminating and an area manager for Orkin. Walkup told the 19-year-old that if he wanted a job with a future, just ask.

“Sam hired me as a part-time termite technician for the Leesburg area,” Hardy recalled in his Hall of Fame profile. “Sam, well, he advanced my age a little bit because you had to be 21 to work for Orkin then. For the first four or five years of my career, people thought I was older than I actually was.”

Within weeks of his hire, in 1961, Hardy boiled down the industry bible, Truman’s Scientific Guide to Pest Management Operations, into a series of 30-minute training courses for Orkin. Other industry accomplishments include:

• In 1988, he helped to develop the first national, centralized training program for Orkin
• He helped to created the first pest management program to focus on treating the outside of the house rather than inside
• He helped introduce foaming machines to the industry
• He trained and certified nearly 2,000 Orkin technicians in Florida from 1965 to the mid-1980s
• From 1971 to 1988, he held the post of Southeast regional technical director while traveling around the country presenting at educational conferences, conducting media interviews for TV and radio, and writing for industry publications

Hardy and his late wife, Judy, had four children and several grandchildren. After retiring from Orkin, he continued to help the industry through JP Hardy Consulting. His first name was Jimmy, and he was sometimes credited as “J. Paul Hardy” in the media. As recently as the May issue, Hardy was glad to lend his insights into Pest Management Professional’s monthly “Question of the Month” column.

On a personal note, this author relied on Hardy many times throughout her career to give candid, insightful explanations on a wide range of industry topics and will miss him greatly. His humor and easygoing manner made him a friend to many. The Pest Management Professional staff offers its sincere condolences to Hardy’s family, friends and colleagues.