Jeff Hardin, right, is pictured with Fayette Advocate Chief Political Correspondent Eric LaMont Gregory at the 2013 Lincoln Day Dinner in February. ADVOCATE PHOTO/DEREK MYERS
Funeral details for Ohio school board member Jeff Hardin, whose district included Fayette and Highland counties and died Wednesday morning after a fatal heart attack, have been released.
Hardin, 58, of Milford, was re-elected in November by a landslide to a second four-year term to represent the state’s school board 10th district, which also includes Adams, Brown, Clermont, Fayette, Gallia, Highland, Jackson, Lawrence, Madison, Pike, Ross, Scioto and Vinton counties, and part of Pickaway County.
A Viewing will be held at Owensville United Methodist Church in Batavia, Ohio on Monday, March 18 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. with a service to immediately follow. All who knew him are welcomed and encouraged to attend.
His Burial and a short prayer service will take place the following day at 2 p.m. at the Maplegrove Cemetery in Hubbard, Ohio. He will be laid to rest near other members of his family.
Ohio State Board of Education President Debe Terhrar, of Cincinnati, issued a statement following Hardin’s death, calling him a dedicated public servant and friend.
“Just yesterday, less than 24 hours before his passing, he made a special trip to Columbus with his son to participate in our board meeting. I join so many others who knew Jeff in offering my deepest sympathy on his passing to his family and friends,” Terhrar said.
Hardin was a mortgage professional and adjunct faculty member at Hondros College, according to his official biography. He was first elected to the state board of education in 2008, the same year he served as a Republican delegate for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, according to his LinkedIn profile.
His community involvement included serving as governor of the Ohio District of Key Club International, serving as clerk-treasurer of Hubbard Township, and participation in numerous Masonic activities.
Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich will appoint someone to fulfill the rest of Hardin’s term, ODE spokesman John Charlton said Wednesday. There is no immediate timetable.