Joseph Hardy, founder of 84 Lumber, dies on 100th birthday
Joseph Hardy III, founder of the 84 Lumber chain of building materials stores and developer of the Nemacolin resort, has died FARMINGTON, Pa. -- Joseph Hardy III, founder of the 84 Lumber chain of building materials stores and developer of the Nemacolin resort, has died. He was 100. A family statement provided by the company said the family had lost its “patriarch and all-around great man.” A profile posted on the company’s website said he passed away on his 100th birthday Saturday ”surrounded by his loving family singing Broadway show tunes to comfort him at his home in Farmington.” “Many knew Joe as a brilliant Business man and enthusiastic entrepreneur,” said the statement provided by Amy Smiley, 84 Lumber’s vice president of marketing. “Even with his vast success, Joe always remembered what matters most: people. He helped make the American dream real for so many, and he will be greatly missed.” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Hardy was credited with “rethinking the lumber bu...