Remembering Another Long-Time West Neck Fixture

Anyone whose patronage of West Neck Marina dates back to at least the 1970s, and perhaps earlier (I'm just not sure), undoubtedly remembers Jim Hardy, the man pictured here with a nice largemouth. Unfortunately, I was saddened this morning to read in The Virginian-Pilot obituaries where Jim left us this past Thursday, Oct. 29th.

Born June 4, 1940, Jim and his late-brother, Ray, spent many a day during their lives fishing out of West Neck. Likewise, both men and their families were usually on hand for the annual marina cookouts thrown by former owners Bill and Veradell Brown.

The one thing I remember most about Jim was that he frequently fished with his father-in-law at the time, who videotaped each and every one of their trips on the water.

I particularly recall one early morning when I happened to be waiting to launch behind that duo. Jim had launched his boat, tied it off at the dock, and was parking his vehicle as I made sure my boat was ready to go in the water. I suddenly became acutely aware that someone nearby either was talking to himself or was doing a monolog. I paused and looked toward the ramp, where I found Jim's father-in-law busy recording the intro for that particular day's fishing trip. He was including the date, general weather conditions, water temp--all the things one would expect to find in a standard fishing trip report.


A younger Jim (left), with his late-brother, Ray.

I can't help but wonder now whatever has happened to all those videotapes. It's times like this that memories become ever so precious, and I would think all those videotapes could provide a huge amount of solace to loved ones left behind. Jim's survivors include his wife, Mary Jane; his sons, Jimmy Hardy, Jr., Sean Hardy, and Kevin Hardy; daughters, Stephannee Jones and Anje Laufer; and his grandson, Joshua Nunez.

When Jim wasn't fishing, he most often could be found driving one of those brown delivery trucks you see around town. He retired from UPS with 25 years of service.

According to the obituary in the morning newspaper, a funeral mass will be offered on Tuesday, Nov. 3rd, at 6:15 p.m., at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 1396 Lynnhaven Pkwy., Virginia Beach. The family will receive friends from 5 to 6 p.m. You're invited to share a memory at www.familychoicefunerals.com.