Joel Griffeth Hardman, PhD
HOOKSICK FALLS, N.Y. – Joel Griffeth Hardman, Ph.D., an internationally recognized scientist and educator died June 30, 2019 in Hoosick Falls, N.Y. after a long illness. He was 85 years old.
Joel G. Hardman was born in Colbert, Ga. on Nov. 7, 1933 to Joel Carlton Hardman and Ruby Griffeth Hardman. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1954, and worked as a pharmacist in Athens, Ga. from 1954 to 1960. Joel earned a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Emory University in 1964. He married the love of his life, Georgette Johnson, in 1955.
Joel began his career at Vanderbilt University Medical School in 1964, doing post-doctoral work with Earl Sutherland, MD, who won the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1971. He became full professor in 1972, chairman of pharmacology in 1974, and associate vice-chancellor for health affairs 1990. He was a gifted educator who nurtured the careers of numerous students and young faculty members. Joel served with Dr. Lee Limbird as co-editor-in-chief of the standard reference work in pharmacology, Goodman and Gilman’s The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, for much of the 1990s. He also served as president of the American Society for Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ASPET) in 1993-1994. In recognition of Joel’s sustained interest in the training of young scientists, the annual Joel G. Hardman Student-Invited Pharmacology Forum was established in 1998.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Joel pursued a wide range of interests, including bluegrass music, world travel, spy novels, and history. Once an interest was sparked he would plunge into the area whole-heartedly and learn as much as he could about it. He could explain the logic behind the Cold War, the steps in a magic trick, the difference between a lager and porter with as much passion and expertise and he explained hormones’ effects on cellular processes. When he and Georgette moved to rural Williamson County Tennessee in 1983, he cultivated his garden-growing and wood-chopping skills, supplying family and friends with vegetables and firewood throughout the year. With their move to Lovell in 2002, Joel continued to chop down trees and grow garlic, adding snow shoveling and carpentry to his long list of talents. He became active in community service in Lovell, contributing time and expertise to the school board, the historical society, The Brick Church for the Performing Arts, and the Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library. Joel spent a life time exploring the world, from the microscopic to the astronomic, and his family, friends, colleagues, and many dogs joined him with much joy and love.
Joel is survived by his wife, Georgette Hardman, of Shushan, N.Y.; children, Pam Hardman of Bellingham, Wash., Fran Goldstone (Jeff) of Cambridge, N.Y., Mary George Hardman of Troy, N.Y., Joel Hardman (Laurie Puchner) of Edwardsville, Ill.; grandchildren, Jacob Goldstone, Gregory Goldstone, Luke Puchner-Hardman, Maggie Puchner-Hardman, Emelissa Vandenbosch, Alice Hardman.
