Obituary of Jan D. Hardison

Jan Denise Hardison of Ransomville passed from her earthly life on July 15, 2020, after a lengthy battle with cancer and other health problems. She was 67. Jan was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico when her father Denton Hardison was stationed there while serving in the U.S. Air Force. He was joined by Jan’s mother, Esther Bradley Hardison, and she gave birth to Jan on on March 13, 1953. Jan was a singer most of her life, and while still in high school was selected for All-County choruses, NYSSMA All-State chorus, and earned the distinguished honor of being one of only 2 high school singers from New York State selected for “America’s Youth in Concert”, which toured Europe immediately upon graduation. Jan graduated from Wilson High School in 1971, then attended the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont., where she majored in Music (Voice performance). Jan went on to sing for close to 40 years in numerous choirs and opera companies, and was often employed as the paid Alto soloist/section leader. Notable among these were First Presbyterian Church of Buffalo, Artpark Opera Chorus; Western New York Opera Theatre; Lancaster Opera House; High Holy Day choir, Temple Beth Am/Shir Shalom (Buffalo); St. Barnabas Episcopal in Scottsdale, Arizona, First Congregational church of Tempe, Arizona, and St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal near San Franciso, CA. In more recent years, she often joined her sister Paige in singing duets at the Ransomville United Methodist Church. Her final public performance was a trio sung with Paige and their cousin Lynn Esty at the First Presbyterian Church of Youngstown, where Jan also occasionally joined in rehearsals with their choir. Jan also taught voice for 2 years at Niagara University in the 1970’s. Jan worked as the Box Office Manager or similar positions at various theatres around the country, including Studio Arena (Buffalo), Artpark (Lewiston) Geva Theatre (Rochester), Connecticut Opera (Hartford) and Arizona State University (Tempe). She especially enjoyed her work in these places when it meant working with students or young adults, as it did at Artpark and ASU. Jan had a great love for choral music, and she especially enjoyed folk music of the U.S. and Canada, as well as Scandinavian groups. In addition to music and theatre, Jan loved nature and animals, (especially horses, dogs, cats, and birds) She also enjoyed movies, reading, jewelry making, and watching quality television. She loved the arts and found beauty in many things; she loved to laugh and never hesitated to cry, and was diligent about keeping in touch with her many friends and relatives by social media, phone calls, and in-person visits with family and friends. Jan is pre-deceased by her father, Denton Hardison and her beloved dogs Paddy and Beanbag and cats BC Thunderpaws and Tillie. She is survived by her mother Esther (nee Bradley) Hardison; brother Bradley Hardison; sister Paige Hardison; nephews Evan and Ian Hardison; her Aunt Millie (Bradley) Hillman; and her beloved Siberian mountain cat, Sammi; many cousins on both sides of her family; and many, many friends throughout the country and world. The family wishes to thank the many doctors, nurses, and support staff of all of the medical institutions which treated Jan in recent years, especially Roswell Park Cancer Institute; Mount St. Mary’s Hospital Wound Treatment Center; Lewiston Primary Care Center/NFMMC; Excelsior Orthopaedics, and the Visiting Nurse Association. Friends and family may call 2:00-6:00 SUNDAY July 19 at the HARDISON FUNERAL HOMES INC. 3648 Ransomville Road in Ransomville. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, funeral service will be for family members only on MONDAY at 10:00 am. Friends who would like to view the funeral live online may do so on the Hardison Funeral Home Facebook page. Memorial contributions in Jan’s name may be made to the Heart of Niagara Animal Rescue, 3652 Ewings Road, Lockport, N.Y., 14094. Please visit www.hardisonfuneralhomes.com for online condolences.