Joe Hardin Sr.

Joe Watkin Hardin Sr. of Baytown died at home on January 8, 2023. Born April 30th 1936 in Savannah, Tennessee to Blackmun and Maggie Inez (Shelby) Hardin. Joe was a graduate of Central High School in Savannah where he played varsity basketball and football. He met wife Jeanette in high school and they married in 1960 after she graduated from Birmingham Southern College in Alabama. In 1962 Joe accepted a transfer from the Tennessee Gas Pipeline company to Tenneco in Pasadena, Texas. He served in the Tennessee National Guard before moving to Texas and retired as a shift supervisor from Occidental Petroleum in 1998.


Joe loved his family, never met a stranger, and enjoyed raising horses, fishing, golf, and hunting. He made an excellent pot of beans and cornbread and was known for his amazing sourdough bread that he shared with family and friends.


Joe is preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Judy Ann; and brother, Jerry. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Jeanette Hardin; sons, Joe W. Hardin Jr. and wife Denise, Kevin L. Hardin and wife Shelley, and Austin K. Hardin; sisters, Shelby, Beverly, and Libby Hardin; brothers, Gordon and Tommy Hardin; grandchildren, Jonathan Hardin and wife Tonya, Ashley (Hardin) Middleton and husband Nick, Jacey Hardin, Anna Hardin, Jessica Hardin, and Jennifer Hardin; great-grandchildren, Laura and Harmony Hardin; and numerous nieces and nephews.