Go Big or Go Home: The Story of Joe Hardy

If you could describe Joe Hardy with one phrase, it might be “Go big or go home.” Joseph A. Hardy III, the billionaire founder of 84 Lumber and Nemacolin Resort, lived his life without hesitation.

Hardy was born in Pittsburgh on January 7, 1923, and attended Mt. Lebanon High School, Shadyside Academy, and Lehigh University. When he was a senior at Lehigh, Hardy enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps and served as a radioman during World War II. After the war, Hardy worked at the family-owned jewelry store Hardy & Hayes, a three-story shop on Wood Street. He attended the University of Pittsburgh part-time while working at the jewelers and earned a degree in industrial engineering. Hardy showed his acumen for sales at Hardy & Hayes and soon realized that he needed to move on to bigger things.

Founding an Empire

In 1956, Joe Hardy, along with his friend Ed Ryan and his brothers Norman and Bob, embarked on a new venture. They founded Green Hills Lumber, which would later evolve into the globally renowned 84 Lumber. The company, named after the town of Eighty Four, Pennsylvania, where its headquarters were located, grew under Hardy’s leadership to be the world’s largest privately owned building materials supplier. Today, 84 Lumber boasts over 310 facilities, a testament to Hardy’s entrepreneurial prowess. And it’s still headquartered in Eighty Four.

In 1985, the Forbes 400 cited him as one of the world’s wealthiest people; in 1987, he was elected by Venture Magazine as Entrepreneur of the Year. The billionaire also received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Washington & Jefferson College, and in 1989, The University of Pittsburgh elected him to its board of trustees.

Creating Nemacolin Resort

Not one to rest on his laurels, in 1987, Hardy purchased a tract of land in Farmington, Pennsylvania, and developed it into Nemacolin Resort. The 2,800-acre AAA Four Diamond world-class resort includes the AAA Five Diamond Falling Rock hotel and Pete-Dye-designed Mystic Rock golf course. For four years, Hardy hosted the PGA Tour at Nemacolin for the 84 Lumber Classic. He was also a partner in the Meadows Racetrack in Meadowlands for ten years and was vice chairman for the Fayette County Board of Commissioners.

A Wild Life

Joe Hardy’s personal life was just as significant. He was married five times. His first wife was Dorothy, with whom he had been married for 50 years when they divorced. They had five children, including daughter Maggie, now the president of 84 Lumber. He then married his 26-year-old secretary, Debra, and they had two children. He set tongues to wagging when the 85-year-old Hardy married a 22-year-old Nemacolin salon employee in 2007 in Las Vegas. That union lasted less than four months. In 2009, he married his fourth wife, 51-year-old Rebecca Davis. They divorced, and in 2014, he married his wife, Jodi, with whom he had one son.

In true Hardy style, the tycoon died on his 100th birthday on January 7, 2023.  It’s said he was surrounded by his family with a cigar in his hand while they sang Broadway show tunes to ease his passing. He was survived by his eight children, 15 grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren, and a legacy that was larger than life.

By Janice Lane Palko