On January 7, 1923, Joseph A. Hardy III was born. He grew up in the Great Depression and worked selling fruit door to door while attending college.
Hardy founded the Green Hills Lumber Company following his graduation from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in industrial engineering.
Joe, his brothers, and a few other investors purchased a lumber yard in Eighty Four, Pennsylvania, in 1956. They started a company named “84 Lumber” and quickly started selling building supplies and tools for home remodeling. Joe and his brothers eventually bought out the other partners after a period of time.
Over the ensuing decades, 84 Lumber expanded to become one of the biggest home improvement chains in the country. Currently, it is America’s largest privately owned chain for home improvement and building supplies. As of the time of writing, 84 Lumber runs more than 250 locations across 30 states, bringing in more than $4 billion annually.
After running the business for more than three decades, Joe named his daughter Maggie as president in 1992. He also gave his daughter 40% of the company’s stake at this time.
In 1993, he increased it to 80%. 2008’s housing market collapse put 84 Lumber in danger of going out of business. Within a few years, the company was saved from bankruptcy with some restructuring and cost-cutting.
Joe Hardy’s children: Taylor Hardy, Maggie Hardy, 6 others
He had five children—the youngest of them, Maggie, is currently the president of 84 Lumber—with his first wife, Dorothy, who he was married to for 50 years.
Taylor and Paige are the daughters he shares with Debra, his second wife. Kristin Georgi, a 22-year-old salon staffer at the Nemacoln Woodlands Resort, was married to 85-year-old Hardy.
The pre-nuptial and marriage agreements were accepted, and the wedding was held on May 5, 2007, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hardy filed for divorce on August 20, 2007, citing “irreconcilable disagreements” in the petition.
Rebecca Davis, 51, was Hardy’s fourth wife, whom he wed in December 2009. Hardy married Jodi Santella Williams on November 21, 2014. JJ Alexander Hardy is the name of their kid, who they share. Hardy has had a position on the board of trustees for Washington & Jefferson College.
