Jess Hardesty

Jess Hardesty, 78, of Goshen, died at Greencroft Healthcare early Wednesday morning, April 1, 2009. He was born in Fawn River Township, Michigan on September 28, 1930, to Jess L. and Helen (Cripe) Hardesty. A truck driver for the Elkhart County Highway Department, Mr. Hardesty was a member of Brenneman Memorial Missionary Church, Goshen; Goshen VFW and a lifetime member of the Goshen DAV and the national POW organization.  He served in the Army during the Korean War where he was a POW for two years and ten months. He is survived by a son, Kim (Teresa) Hardesty of Goshen; two daughters, Judy (Jerry) Stone of Bixby, Oklahoma, and Sandy (Mike) Saunders of Goshen; eight grandchildren; ten great-grandchildren; three sisters, Mary (Wallace) VanHook, of Goshen, Joyce Kline of Three Rivers, Michigan, and Myrtle Hickey of Tennessee; and three brothers, Richard, Charles (Shirley) and Robert Hardesty, all of Goshen. He was preceded in death by two infants, Shirley and Dale Hardesty; two sisters, Marian VanNuys and Daisy Todd; and a brother, Wendell Hardesty. Friends may call 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, April 3, at Yoder-Culp Funeral Home. A graveside service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, April 4, 2009, at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens.  Rev. James Hochstetler of Gospel Lighthouse, Goshen will officiate. Memorial contributions may be given to Goshen Care at Home Hospice.