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Dr Jacques Hardre

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Dr Jacques Hardre

Birth
France
Death
16 Nov 1983 (aged 68)
Chapel Hill, Orange County, North Carolina, USA
Burial
Chapel Hill, Orange County, North Carolina, USA Add to Map
Plot
Section 3
Memorial ID
View Source
Jacques Hardre, Kenan Professor of French Emeritus, died in Chapel Hill on November 16, 1983 of a heart attack, following a long illness.

A native of Dinan, France, Hardre came with his parents to the United States as a young boy. His father, Rene, a teacher of French, taught at Middlebury College before settling in Greensboro, North Caolina, where he was a professor of French at, what was then, the Women's College of the University of North Carolina. Hardre received his baccalaureat from the Lycee Lakanal, his BA from Guilford College, and his MA and PhD from North Carolina. He joined the Chapel Hill faculty in 1945, where he spent his entire professional career, serving two terms as chairman of the Department of Romance Languages before his retirement in 1977.

Jacques Hardre, who became a naturalized United States citizen in 1956, responded as a patriotic Frenchman when war was declared in 1939. As a sargeant in the 129th Infantry Regiment of the French Army, he experienced the humiliation of defeat, and narrated the painful and chaotic retreat of his unit in an unpublished memoir of his Franco-American chidhood entitled "Ples-Blanc-Rouge/Red, White, and Blue." This title, incidentally, gestures towards Hardre's perfect bilingualism, a linguistic feat that only rarely encountered. After demobilization, and with great difficulty, Hardre was able to return to North Carolina via North Africa and Portugal. Against his father's wishes, he responded to the historic call of General Charles de Gaulle -- la France a perdu une bataille, la France n's pas perdu une guerre -- and joined the Free French Forces in London. From 1942 until the Liberation, Hardre served as a lieutenant with the legendary First Armored Division of the free French. His admiration for Charles de Gaulle was boundless, and his service to France was rewarded by the Crois de Guerre, the Medal of Free France, and the Medal of Volunteer Combattants. Military service and professsional interests coalesced in the publication, in 1945, of his edition of the "Letters of Louvois", the great war minister of Louis XIV. Hardre was very proud of a congratulatory letter that General de Gaulle sent him after his reading of this work. From this time also, dated his lifelong attraction to the mystical poet and essayist of patriotism and love for the soil and history of France, Charles Peguy. Hardre was to publish five articles on Peguy, as well as books and articles on other French literary figures of the twentieth century, the best know of who are Sartre, Camus and the surrealists. His most widely known publihed work ia a panorama into which he poured his vast historical and cultural knowledge of France, "La France et sa civilisation".

At their death, it would seem, true scholars leave unfinished works as tokens of their continuing intellectual vigor. "Pendent Opera Interrrupta". This was the case with Hardre's unfinished "Love and Works of Charles Peguy" on which his research continued until his death.

In retirement, Hardre's creative energies took an unexpected turn towards the realm of prose fiction and autobiography. A lon-time Agatha Christie devotee, in 1982 he published a murder mystery set n the Department of Romance Languages in Chapel Hill, and called (in French) "Blood under the Magnolia Trees". This roman a cle was a dual occasion: first for turning the eye of his impish sense of humor in the direction of his colleagues, and second for explaining to the French his beloved North Carolina, touching upon matters that ranged from grits to fraternities to the arcana of the University's administrative structures. He also wrote an unpublished novel on Napolean.

Hardre's service to the profession was regional, national and international in scope. He founded the Alliance Francaise of Chapel Hill. In the American Association of Teachers of French, he held virtually every office at every level, and eventually served two terms as National President followed by the editorship of the association's journal, the "French Review". In 1972, he was elected President of the International Federation of Professors of French. He originated the Joint National Committee on Languages, which has become and umbrella organization of over twenty associations lobbying in Washington in behalf of foreign language legislation. He was a gifted undergraduate teacher and directed a large share of his department's MA theses and PhD dissertations.

Senegal awarded him it's National Order of the Loin. Thhe French Society for the Encouragement of Progress gave him its Vermeil Medal. the French government named him to the Order of the Academic Palms. In 1967, France bestowed upon this son of Brittany and North Carolina her highest accolade, the Legion of Honor.

Jacques Hardre was a truly cultured human being. He loved books, travel, music and was perfectly at home in the twin cultures of his life. He is mourned by all his friends and colleagues who will miss his unfailing Gallic good humor expressed in this deep and gentle Southern accent.

In his honor, his colleagues have created the Jacques Hardre Memorial Scholarhsip Fund. Contributions may be made to the Department of Romance Languages, 238 Dey Hall 014A, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514.

I R Stirling Haig, Chairman
George B Daniel
Eugene H Falk
Sir Edouard Morot
Ria S Stembaugh

***********************************

New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
Name: Jacques Hardre
Arrival Date: 8 Sep 1922
Birth Year: abt 1915
Birth Location: France
Birth Location Other: dinan
Age: 7
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: French
Port of Departure: Havre
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Ship Name: Rochambeau

New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
Name: Jacques Hardre
Arrival Date: 17 Jun 1932
Birth Year: abt 1915
Birth Location: France
Birth Location Other: dinan
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: French
Port of Departure: Cherbourg, France
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Ship Name: Hamburg

New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
Name: Jacques Hardre
Arrival Date: 15 Jul 1936
Birth Year: abt 1915
Birth Location: France
Birth Location Other: Dinan
Age: 21
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: French
Place of Origin: France
Friend's Name: Rene H S Spring
Port of Departure: Cherbourg, France
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Port Arrival State: New York
Port Arrival Country: United States
Ship Name: Bremen

New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
Name: Jacques Hardre
Arrival Date: 9 Dec 1940
Birth Year: abt 1915
Birth Location: France
Birth Location Other: dinan
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: French
Friend's Name: Rene Greensboro
Port of Departure: Lisbon, Portugal
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Ship Name: Exeter

New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
Name: Jacques Hardre
Arrival Date: 1 Aug 1955
Birth Year: abt 1915
Age: 40
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: French
Port of Departure: Le Havre, France
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Ship Name: Liberte

North Carolina Death Collection, 1908-2004
Name: Jacques Hardre
Gender: Male
Race: White
Marital Status: Never Married (Single)
Social Security Number: 240580190
Father's Last Name: H
Age: 68
Date of Birth: 10 Jan 1915
Birth Location: Remainder of World
Residence City: Chapel Hill
Residence County: Orange
Residence State: North Carolina
Date of Death: 16 Nov 1983
Death City: Chapel Hill (P)
Death County: Orange
Death State: North Carolina
Autopsy: No
Institution: General Hospital
Attendant: Physician
Burial Location: Cremation in state
Source Vendor: NC Department of Health. North Carolina Deaths, 1983-87
Jacques Hardre, Kenan Professor of French Emeritus, died in Chapel Hill on November 16, 1983 of a heart attack, following a long illness.

A native of Dinan, France, Hardre came with his parents to the United States as a young boy. His father, Rene, a teacher of French, taught at Middlebury College before settling in Greensboro, North Caolina, where he was a professor of French at, what was then, the Women's College of the University of North Carolina. Hardre received his baccalaureat from the Lycee Lakanal, his BA from Guilford College, and his MA and PhD from North Carolina. He joined the Chapel Hill faculty in 1945, where he spent his entire professional career, serving two terms as chairman of the Department of Romance Languages before his retirement in 1977.

Jacques Hardre, who became a naturalized United States citizen in 1956, responded as a patriotic Frenchman when war was declared in 1939. As a sargeant in the 129th Infantry Regiment of the French Army, he experienced the humiliation of defeat, and narrated the painful and chaotic retreat of his unit in an unpublished memoir of his Franco-American chidhood entitled "Ples-Blanc-Rouge/Red, White, and Blue." This title, incidentally, gestures towards Hardre's perfect bilingualism, a linguistic feat that only rarely encountered. After demobilization, and with great difficulty, Hardre was able to return to North Carolina via North Africa and Portugal. Against his father's wishes, he responded to the historic call of General Charles de Gaulle -- la France a perdu une bataille, la France n's pas perdu une guerre -- and joined the Free French Forces in London. From 1942 until the Liberation, Hardre served as a lieutenant with the legendary First Armored Division of the free French. His admiration for Charles de Gaulle was boundless, and his service to France was rewarded by the Crois de Guerre, the Medal of Free France, and the Medal of Volunteer Combattants. Military service and professsional interests coalesced in the publication, in 1945, of his edition of the "Letters of Louvois", the great war minister of Louis XIV. Hardre was very proud of a congratulatory letter that General de Gaulle sent him after his reading of this work. From this time also, dated his lifelong attraction to the mystical poet and essayist of patriotism and love for the soil and history of France, Charles Peguy. Hardre was to publish five articles on Peguy, as well as books and articles on other French literary figures of the twentieth century, the best know of who are Sartre, Camus and the surrealists. His most widely known publihed work ia a panorama into which he poured his vast historical and cultural knowledge of France, "La France et sa civilisation".

At their death, it would seem, true scholars leave unfinished works as tokens of their continuing intellectual vigor. "Pendent Opera Interrrupta". This was the case with Hardre's unfinished "Love and Works of Charles Peguy" on which his research continued until his death.

In retirement, Hardre's creative energies took an unexpected turn towards the realm of prose fiction and autobiography. A lon-time Agatha Christie devotee, in 1982 he published a murder mystery set n the Department of Romance Languages in Chapel Hill, and called (in French) "Blood under the Magnolia Trees". This roman a cle was a dual occasion: first for turning the eye of his impish sense of humor in the direction of his colleagues, and second for explaining to the French his beloved North Carolina, touching upon matters that ranged from grits to fraternities to the arcana of the University's administrative structures. He also wrote an unpublished novel on Napolean.

Hardre's service to the profession was regional, national and international in scope. He founded the Alliance Francaise of Chapel Hill. In the American Association of Teachers of French, he held virtually every office at every level, and eventually served two terms as National President followed by the editorship of the association's journal, the "French Review". In 1972, he was elected President of the International Federation of Professors of French. He originated the Joint National Committee on Languages, which has become and umbrella organization of over twenty associations lobbying in Washington in behalf of foreign language legislation. He was a gifted undergraduate teacher and directed a large share of his department's MA theses and PhD dissertations.

Senegal awarded him it's National Order of the Loin. Thhe French Society for the Encouragement of Progress gave him its Vermeil Medal. the French government named him to the Order of the Academic Palms. In 1967, France bestowed upon this son of Brittany and North Carolina her highest accolade, the Legion of Honor.

Jacques Hardre was a truly cultured human being. He loved books, travel, music and was perfectly at home in the twin cultures of his life. He is mourned by all his friends and colleagues who will miss his unfailing Gallic good humor expressed in this deep and gentle Southern accent.

In his honor, his colleagues have created the Jacques Hardre Memorial Scholarhsip Fund. Contributions may be made to the Department of Romance Languages, 238 Dey Hall 014A, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514.

I R Stirling Haig, Chairman
George B Daniel
Eugene H Falk
Sir Edouard Morot
Ria S Stembaugh

***********************************

New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
Name: Jacques Hardre
Arrival Date: 8 Sep 1922
Birth Year: abt 1915
Birth Location: France
Birth Location Other: dinan
Age: 7
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: French
Port of Departure: Havre
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Ship Name: Rochambeau

New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
Name: Jacques Hardre
Arrival Date: 17 Jun 1932
Birth Year: abt 1915
Birth Location: France
Birth Location Other: dinan
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: French
Port of Departure: Cherbourg, France
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Ship Name: Hamburg

New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
Name: Jacques Hardre
Arrival Date: 15 Jul 1936
Birth Year: abt 1915
Birth Location: France
Birth Location Other: Dinan
Age: 21
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: French
Place of Origin: France
Friend's Name: Rene H S Spring
Port of Departure: Cherbourg, France
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Port Arrival State: New York
Port Arrival Country: United States
Ship Name: Bremen

New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
Name: Jacques Hardre
Arrival Date: 9 Dec 1940
Birth Year: abt 1915
Birth Location: France
Birth Location Other: dinan
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: French
Friend's Name: Rene Greensboro
Port of Departure: Lisbon, Portugal
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Ship Name: Exeter

New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
Name: Jacques Hardre
Arrival Date: 1 Aug 1955
Birth Year: abt 1915
Age: 40
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: French
Port of Departure: Le Havre, France
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Ship Name: Liberte

North Carolina Death Collection, 1908-2004
Name: Jacques Hardre
Gender: Male
Race: White
Marital Status: Never Married (Single)
Social Security Number: 240580190
Father's Last Name: H
Age: 68
Date of Birth: 10 Jan 1915
Birth Location: Remainder of World
Residence City: Chapel Hill
Residence County: Orange
Residence State: North Carolina
Date of Death: 16 Nov 1983
Death City: Chapel Hill (P)
Death County: Orange
Death State: North Carolina
Autopsy: No
Institution: General Hospital
Attendant: Physician
Burial Location: Cremation in state
Source Vendor: NC Department of Health. North Carolina Deaths, 1983-87

Inscription

"Free French Forces, World War II -- Kenan Professor of French"



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  • Maintained by: Coco15
  • Originally Created by: 4losthistory
  • Added: Jun 4, 2010
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/53226501/jacques-hardre: accessed ), memorial page for Dr Jacques Hardre (10 Jan 1915–16 Nov 1983), Find a Grave Memorial ID 53226501, citing Old Chapel Hill Cemetery, Chapel Hill, Orange County, North Carolina, USA; Maintained by Coco15 (contributor 48679220).