SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Gladys Hardy, a retired Springfield Technical Community College employee who passed away Feb. 9, was remembered for her unwavering dedication to STCC and her kind nature.
Hardy was hired at STCC in 1974 when Dr. Robert C. Geitz, the second president, led the college. She retired in 2003 when she was assistant to Dr. Andrew M. Scibelli, the college’s fourth president. Hardy also served as clerk of the Board of Trustees.
Lori Goodreau, executive assistant in Student Affairs who started at STCC in 1987, remembered Hardy as caring, hard-working and the quintessential professional.
“She was like the First Lady of STCC,” said Goodreau, who also worked closely with Hardy’s daughter, Alison Hardy-Dusto.
“She was so professional and beyond efficient. She was infallible in her work,” Goodreau said. “If you had to call her office, or ask her a question or anything, you always knew it was beyond a reasonable doubt. She knew what she was talking about.”
Goodreau said she admired Hardy and considered her a role model.
“She was what I wanted to aspire to be a few years down the road, after I got more seasoned,” Goodreau said. “She was devoted to the college. You would always see her running back and forth from the president’s suite to the president’s conference room, preparing for meetings. She was also a very caring and lovely lady.”
“She was sweet and down to earth, but … she could do her job like nobody’s business,” Goodreau added.
Vinny Grassetti, who recently retired from STCC, shared his memories. He described Hardy as “a lovely person.”
“She was always positive, wanting to be helpful in any way possible, and just the kind of person who made you want to work at the highest level because she was always at the highest level,” Grassetti said in an email.
“Working in the President’s Office – really running the office on behalf of our president – is clearly a very important and highly stressful position to be in. With that being said – I cannot ever remember a single day that I entered the President’s Office – usually in need of an answer or a bit of help – when she seemed anything but at ease, pleasant and sincerely wanting to help.
“We also then got the added bonus of having her daughter Alison as a student – graduate – and also a wonderful employee at the college. She has been missed for a while now – and I’m glad she got the chance to enjoy those grandchildren.”
According to an obituary in the Hartford Courant, Hardy “was a perfectionist to a fault. She gave 110% of herself to her job.”
“She loved to garden and read about history, political science, and books by her favorite author Jane Austin. She was also an avid knitter, crocheter and quilter. She loved learning and being challenged up until her final days,” according to the obituary. “Animals were very important to Gladys throughout her life but especially in her later years.”
About Springfield Technical Community College
STCC, the Commonwealth’s only technical community college, continues the pioneering legacy of the Springfield Armory with comprehensive and technical education in manufacturing, STEM, healthcare, business, social services, and the liberal arts. STCC’s highly regarded workforce, certificate, degree, and transfer programs are the most affordable in Springfield and provide unequaled opportunity for the vitality of Western Massachusetts. Founded in 1967, the college – a designated Hispanic Serving Institution – seeks to close achievement gaps among students who traditionally face societal barriers. STCC supports students as they transform their lives through intellectual, cultural, and economic engagement while becoming thoughtful, committed and socially responsible graduates.
