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Hiram's Obituary |
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Dr. Hiram
Hardesty, 88, (“Pop”) Dr. Hardesty was an ophthalmologist in private practice at Green Road Suburban Medical Center until 1996. He served as associate clinical professor at Case Western Reserve University from 1960-1996, at which time he joined the emeritus faculty.
Hiram Haines Hardesty was born in Paulding, Ohio in 1914. As a youth he loved playing baseball. Between his freshman and sophomore years at Hiram College, Hardesty became pitcher for the Paulding County “All Stars”. He wrote in his memoirs: “It was in the summertime between my years in college that I had my greatest success. I really became interested in pitching softball and worked hard at improving my game. The biggest thrill in my life was pitching a no hit game against our biggest rivals, a team fromVan Wert!” He ultimately earned his undergraduate degree at Miami University in 1936 and received his M.D. at Western Reserve University in 1940. “The most memorable event of my medical school years,” Dr. Hardesty wrote, “was meeting the girl who eventually became my wife. We met on a hayride and all went to dinner after the ride. She swears that on being introduced to me as ‘Merrily Bill’ I retorted, ‘Merrily Bill, what kind of name is that?!’ . . . We were married on the day that we both graduated, Merrily from the School of Social Sciences and I from medical school. It was a big day.”
Medical Library and Cleveland Ophthalmology Club. He was a fellow with the American Academy of Ophthalmology and with the American Academy of Otolaryngology.
Hiram was very interested in the computer and the internet. Over the last several months of his life he began work on a personal Website-memoir about his life and family. You are viewing it now. Memorial donations may be made to the Hospice of your choice, Planned Parenthood, or the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine.
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He
and his wife Merrily bought a farm in West Farmington in 1959. Over
the years they transformed a 200-acre parcel of land into a family sanctuary;
a working tree farm and a successful sugar bush, where they made delicious
maple syrup. They became interested in winemaking and planted a small
vineyard. 
Their
estate-bottled “Hilltop Farm” wine won several blue ribbon prizes
at area wine festivals, and has been shared with much love and laughter
with friends and family over the years. After his retirement, they moved
from their home in Shaker Heights to Hilltop Farm, where Dr. Hardesty
died.
During
World War II, Dr. Hardesty served as a flight surgeon for the 401st bomb
group and was stationed at Deenethorpe, about 70-miles north of London,
home of the “Screamin’ Demons”. After the war, he did his
post graduate work in ophthalmology at the University of Pennsylvania
in Philadelphia and then moved back to Cleveland to do a two-year residency
at University Hospitals. 
During his
long and distinguished professional career, Dr. Hardesty contributed a
great deal to the Cleveland community. He wrote contributing articles
to professional journals and was an active speaker and advocate for his
specialty both here and abroad. He was active in the local United Appeal
(now United Way). He served on the board of directors for the Cleveland
School for the Blind, the American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmology,
the American Orthoptic Council, and the Association for Research in Strabismus
(Squint Club). He served as president of the Allen Memorial 
Hiram
deeply loved and enjoyed time with his family. Every weekend found the
couple (“Boo” and “Pop”) working around the farm,
playing tennis, relaxing, or dining with friends and family. Long time
members of the Cleveland Skating Club, he enjoyed tennis regularly. The
Hardesty’s hosted an annual “Residents Party” for the young
physicians in the ophthalmology resident program at CWRU, which Dr. Hardesty
mentored. In addition to his wife, Merrily, he is survived by two children,
Susan Christie Ph.D, and John Lee Hardesty DDS (Lis). Son Thomas Haines
Hardesty DDS (Kathy) died in 1992. Dr. Hardesty has seven grandchildren
and two great grandchildren. 
