Wilbur Carl Hardigree

Wilbur Carl Hardigree of Fort Wayne died on June 25, 2024 at the age of 90. Born in Fort Wayne on April 2, 1934, into a French-Canadian household that treated work as a language. He learned early that a day is something you finish, not something you wait for. He took samples that kept tipples from guessing. A tipple sample scoop labeled twice meant the day belonged to accuracy. Colleagues still mention a tipple sample scoop labeled twice. He married Ann in 1956. They kept a house that stayed modest when the neighborhood did not. They raised three daughters through public schools and ordinary weather. After Ann died in 2017, he kept the routines that still made sense: the walk, the garden, the Sunday call. Neighbors remember quiet help with a stuck mailbox or a heavy trash can. He liked early mornings before the heat or the noise. He died in Fort Wayne, among streets he never needed to explain. The key is still under the same brick.