MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - Robert B. Hardy Jr., formerly of Ithaca, passed away Thursday evening, Dec. 22, 2005, at Helen Porter Healthcare Facility, after a long illness.

He was born June 6, 1930, in Belmont, N.Y., to Robert B. Hardy and Clara Atterberg Hardy. The family moved to Cato, where he attended Cato-Meridian Central School. He went on to attend Cornell University in Ithaca, where he earned BA, LLB and MBA degrees. He was an administrative law judge for the New York State Department of Labor for 30 years.

After his marriage to Miriam (Smith) Hardy in 1963, the couple stayed in the Ithaca area. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Ulysses in Trumansburg, and past master of the Trumansburg Lodge No. 157 F&AM. He also was a member of the Fidelity Chapter No. 77 RAM.

Mr. Hardy is survived by his wife of 42 years, Miriam of Middlebury, Vt.; and four children: Rob Hardy of Northfield, Mo., the Rev. Jim Hardy of Buffalo, Ruth Hardy of East Middlebury and Clara Hardy of Providence, R.I.; six grandchildren; a sister, Ellen Bentley of Lacanto, Fla.; three nephews; and cousins.

The family will gather in the spring for a service of Masonic Rites in Trumansburg, and a graveside service at the family plot in Cato.

Gifts in his memory, may be made to the Trumansburg Masonic Lodge No. 157, Trumansburg, NY 14886; or a local hospice.