William Hard

William “Bill” Hard died November 3 in Danbury. Born in New York City in 1929 to Anson W. Hard, Jr, and Florence (Bourne) Hard, and raised on Long Island, Mr Hard had lived in Sandy Hook since 1984.

He attended the Green Vale School, Pomfret School, and University of Southern California College of Aeronautics. The founder of Hard Sails, Inc., in 1950 (now North Sails), he loved yacht racing and belonged to Seawanhaka Yacht Club on Long Island for many years. He served in the US Army during the Korean War, before being hired permanently as a pilot for American Airlines.

Mr Hard flew for American for 38 years, retiring in 1989 as captain in the number one seniority position. While he was based in New York for most of his airline career, he flew out of San Diego from 1970 to 1983, during which time he resided in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. Some of the highlights of his tenure with American Airlines included the honor of flying public relations tours in a Ford Tri-Motor, which is now hanging in the Smithsonian Institute. In addition, he was chosen to ferry BAC-111s from England to New York via the polar route. He flew a number of aircraft for American, including Convairs, the DC-6, the DC-7, the Lockheed Electra, the BAC-111, Boeing’s 707, 720, 727, 767, and the Ford Tri-Motor. He logged in excess of 40,000 flight hours, roughly the equivalent to 4½ years in the air. He was a member of the Grey Eagles and Ducks Unlimited.

Mr Hard was pre-deceased by his wife, Suzy, in February 1999. He is survived by his son, William Hard, Jr, of Cardiff, Calif.; his daughter, Laurie Downing of Newport, Ore.; and his four grandchildren. He is also survived by two brothers, Frederick Hard of Stamford and Kenneth Hard of Boynton Beach, Fla.; and a sister, Florence Hughes of Boynton Beach, Fla.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, November 11, at 2 pm at Trinity Episcopal Church in Newtown. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Dr Philip DiSaia’s Cancer Research Fund, c/o UC Irvine Medical Center, Building 23, Room 403, 101 City Drive, Orange, CA 92868.

The Newtown Bee  November 10, 2000