Evelyn Mae (Knecht) Hardy

Evelyn Mae went to be with the Lord in the early morning of Oct. 17, 2023, at the age of 90. Born February 16, 1933, in Lind, Washington to Edward and Lydia Knecht, Evelyn lived on her great-grandparents’ farm in Warden, Washington. She learned to play guitar at the age of 10, and at 13 was given the opportunity to play and sing on her own radio program on KSEM, known as the Sweetheart of the Columbia Basin, until the age of 17. After completing high school in Warden with a graduating class of five, she went to work for General Electric in Richland, Washington, which would prove to be the best move of her life. There she met the love of her life, Aulton Clyde Hardy, better known to his friends as Jack, who was stationed in the Army at Camp Hanford. They shared a love for music and a love for one another like no other.