St. George, Utah - Mary Alice Burgin Hardee, was born on September 22, 1921 in Port Arthur, Texas, to Jack G. Burgin and Emily Ross Burgin. Mary passed away on November 17, 2015, at the age of 94. Mary contracted polio as a young child but persevered to be able to walk. Her family traveled to many places during her childhood and youth due to her father's work; building petroleum storage tanks. She attended Long Beach College where she met and married Clell Willard Hardee on September 1, 1944. After Clell's Army service, they and their three children settled in Aurora, Colorado where she attended the University of Denver, obtaining her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Social Work degrees.
She worked initially as a Special Education teacher and then as a social worker for the Denver public schools until her retirement. She then relocated with her husband to St. George, Utah for over twenty years where she was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter - day Saints and developed many close friends. Following Clell's death in 2008, she moved to Douglas, Wyoming. Mary was preceded in death by her parents; husband; Clell; son, Patrick; and daughter; Catherine Hardee Pope. She is survived by her son, James A. (Nancy L. Williams) Hardee; daughter-in-law, Judy Allen Hardee; son-in-law, Charles Pope; and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held on Friday, December 4, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at the Metcalf Mortuary Chapel, 288 W. St. George Blvd, St. George, Utah. Interment will be next to her husband of 64 years in the St. George City Cemetery.