Memorial services for Janie Lee Hardin, 70, of Portales, will be held at 10:00 AM, Fri., Jan. 27, 2017 at the Third and Kilgore Church of Christ, with Chris Swinford officiating. Burial will be in the Portales Cemetery. A scholarship fund is being established at the J. P. Stone Community Bank for those who desire to make memorial contributions.
Janie Lee Hardin was born July 26, 1946 in Davenport, IA to the home of Elizabeth Hope (Clements) and Stanley Albert Hardin and died Jan. 24, 2017 in Portales, NM. The Hardin family moved to Socorro, NM when she was very young, and then came to Portales in the early 1950’s. Janie graduated from Portales High School in 1964, and went on to study at ENMU. While she was in junior high and high school, Janie played the piccolo and the flute. Janie also had a beautiful singing voice, and always enjoyed singing.
She spent some time working on Okinawa, and later at Camp Shiloh in NJ. In the early 1970’s, while living in Albuquerque, Janie went to work with the VA, and over the next several years lived in a number of places, including a time in Washington, DC. In 1984, Janie came back to Portales to make her home, and for the next 25 years she worked as bookkeeper for the New Mexico Christian Children’s Home. Janie retired in 2009. For the past few years she had been in declining health.
All of Janie’s life she loved kids, and in 1986, she became a mother when she first adopted 10 year-old Shakila, and only a few months later, 5 month old Stephen from India. Her life was full and busy with her new family. She sponsored Bible Bowl, and helped with 4-H, and was always active in church and youth activities.
Janie was a collector of many things. She had a large collection of coins, and she loved animals of all sorts.
She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Stephen and Cassie Hardin of Albuquerque; and two sisters and a brother-in-law, Twila and Gary Watkins of Portales and Tana Thomas of Albuquerque. She was preceded in death by her parents, and her daughter, Shakila Hardin who died in 1999