Kathryn Roberta Hardman

Kathryn Roberta "Nana" Buckels Hardman passed away peacefully in the comfort of her home on February 5, 2026, at the age of 86. Born January 13, 1940, in Valdosta, Georgia, Roberta was raised on a farm in Jasper, Florida, where she developed a deep love for nature and learned the value of hard work, including the ability to pick and sort tobacco. After her family moved to Georgia, Roberta graduated from Warner Robins High School in 1958. A beautiful and accomplished young woman, she was named Miss Warner Robins and competed in the Miss Georgia Pageant, representing her hometown.

Roberta met her husband, a sharp-shooting basketball player named Bobby Ray Hardman, at Young Harris Junior College, located in the mountains of north Georgia. After Ray completed his degree and college basketball career at Mercer University, the two committed their lives to one another on August 18, 1962, beginning a marriage that would span 63 years. Roberta earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education from West Georgia College in 1964. Later, while teaching full time and raising two teenage sons, she attended night school to earn a Master of Arts in Special Education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1985.

Roberta held many titles during her life: wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, daughter, aunt, teacher, Bridge enthusiast, vanilla ice cream connoisseur, sharp dresser, divinity and beignet specialist, and ceramics and terrarium artist, among others. She was a multi-faceted woman known for her hospitality, compassion, class, and poise. Above all, she loved her family deeply. Her favorite way to express that love was by cooking homemade meals and desserts to share with family and friends on Sunday nights after church and by spending quality time with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren telling generational stories to all who would listen.

Roberta lived a life oriented toward others, dedicating herself to caring for and teaching those around her, which was evident in her career pursuits and volunteer roles. She taught kindergarten at Green Valley Baptist Church. Then she worked as a special education teacher at Bluff Park and Rocky Ridge Elementary Schools from 1983 through 2000. Roberta was honored to be a member of the first class of teachers at the newly formed Hoover City Schools system in 1988.

Roberta proactively looked to serve her community in ways that aligned with her passions, patriotism, and family pride. She was an energetic and decorated member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Daughters of the American Revolution. She served as Regent of the DAR Cahawba Chapter from 2005 to 2007. Under her leadership, the

chapter received the 2006 Chairman's Award for excellence in chapter growth and productivity. In her spare time, Roberta spent countless hours in libraries researching her family history or visiting cemeteries across the Southeast to identify patriots in her family tree.

More than anything, she loved studying God's Word as a longtime participant in the Birmingham Day Women's Bible Study Fellowship class, where she served as a children's leader for many years. She also dedicated most of her Sunday mornings to caring for infants in the Green Valley Baptist Church nursery for decades. In 2014, she and Ray joined the fellowship of believers at Lakeside Baptist Church.

Roberta was preceded in death by her father, Robert Clio Buckels, and her mother, Kathryn Henderson Buckels. She is survived by her husband, Ray; her two sons, Rob (Tabitha) and Willie (Michelle); her sister, Sarah Brownlee (Mike); her eight grandchildren, Matthew (Aileen), Caleb (Mary Langdon), Kathryn Jordan (Hunter), Haley, Hunter (Emma), Hanna Ray Thomson (Andrew), Heather, and Georgia; and her six great-grandsons, Tommy, William, Miles, Henry, Pierson, and Charlie.

The Hardman family invites you to join them for a Celebration of Life to honor Roberta on Friday, January 13, 2026. The services will be held at Currie-Jefferson Funeral Home, located at 2701 John Hawkins Parkway, Hoover, Alabama 35244. The family will receive friends beginning at 1:00 p.m. followed by a memorial service at 2:00 p.m.