HARDIN, JR., CARL C. (1914~2000) Carl Clara Hardin, Jr. Secretary of the Texas Senate, was born on August 26, 1914, to Carl C. Hardin, Sr., a former state legislator, and Stella Davis Hardin in Stephenville, Texas. He attended the public schools in Stephenville and graduated from Stephenville High School in 1931. He then attended John Tarleton College, now Tarleton State University, where he was editor of the College Yearbook and Captain of the Cadet Corps; and qualified for a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Reserve.
Hardin entered the University of Texas Law School in 1933, where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. He became active in campus, local, and State politics; and between 1935 - 1937 was Assistant Secretary of the Texas Senate.
After graduation from Law School in 1937, Hardin was stricken with polio; and upon recovery, he became very active in numerous civic and charitable organizations on the local, state and national levels. He was the first person in the nation to be honored for 15 years of outstanding service by the National Foundation For Infantile Paralysis, founded by Franklin Roosevelt in 1938. He served as President of Polio, Inc., and Chairman of the Texas March of Dimes in his efforts to find a vaccine or cure for polio.
During World War II, Hardin rose to the rank of Colonel in the Texas State Guard, and was a Staff Member of the Adjutant General of Texas, and Special Consultant to the Defense Department during World War II on organization and appropriations for the National and Texas State Guards. Following World War II, he became Deputy Chief of Staff to the Texas Guard, where he supervised the orderly transition of equipment and materials to the Texas State Guard for its peace time mission.
Ben Ramsey, Lieutenant Governor of Texas, appointed Hardin Secretary of the Senate, where he served for several years. Thereafter, he became the first Executive Secretary of the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners. He also served as legal counsel and lobbyist for the Texas Dental Association. In 1981, he taught practice relations and dental management at The University of Texas Dental Branch in Houston.
He was the author of or wrote amendments to every portion of the Dental Practice Act, the Rules and Regulations of the Dental Board, the Texas Dental Hygiene Law, the Dental Laboratory and Dental Technician Law. He was an active participant in dental affairs since 1937, and appeared in local, State, regional and national dental programs. He was an active participant in the American Association of Dental Examiners, the Conference of Dental Deans and Examiners, and was known and respected by dental leaders throughout the United States. His advice and counsel was sought, and he was known as "Mr. Dentistry" to many.
Hardin was Chairman of The Capitol Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and very active in the Optimist Little League baseball program and junior golf. He was also Director of the Law Enforcement Officers Association, and Legal Counsel to the Texas Society of Architects and the Texas Optometrists Association. In 1987, he was honored for 50 years of valuable and meritorious service by the State Bar of Texas. During the 1960s, he was active in the management and expansion of the Hardin House, a family business for coed housing at The University of Texas, founded by his mother, Stella Davis Hardin, in 1937. He was a Charter Member of the Headliners Club, Westwood Country Club and a founder of Tarrytown Methodist Church.
Carl C. Hardin, Jr. was married to the former Kathleen Marshall and was the father of three children, Carl C. Hardin, III, Lucy Hardin Moffitt, and Julie Hardin Bolen, all from his marriage to the late Jean Stringer Hardin. He passed away on November 5, 2000, following a lengthy illness, and was buried in the Texas State Cemetery two days later.
Information taken from obituary, Austin American-Statesman, Monday, November 6, 2000. |
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