PALMYRA – Robert James Tardy, 77, passed away at his home on Sept. 21, 2021. The son of Joseph Henry Tardy and Jean Elizabeth (Kugel) Tardy, he was born on May 5, 1944, on a military base in Gulfport, Mississippi. Bob grew up in Newport, where his father’s farm implement business, Lewis Brothers, was a fixture of the local farming community. Lewis Brothers is also where he learned at a young age that life, like farming, can be an unpredictable business with an iffy beauty-to-heartache ratio. He was just eight years old when his mother died of breast cancer. Upon her passing, he and his younger sister went to live for a time with their paternal grandparents, Guy and Mabel Tardy. He always missed his mother, and never forgot the promise he made to her shortly before she died: He would go to college someday. After graduating from Newport High School in 1962, he made good on that promise. He graduated from the University of Maine at Orono in 1966 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. After college, he returned home to teach in the local school district and coached the Newport Jr. High girl’s basketball team to an undefeated season. Later, he joined the faculty at Nokomis Regional High where he helped create the school’s agri-business program. Bob had a sharp and curious mind, and a freewheeling spirit. He wasn’t one to let a single career path define him, or to let an obstacle dim his sense of possibility. With a young family to raise on a moderate 1970s teacher’s salary, he side-hustled, experimented, and never shied away from taking a big swing at an opportunity to pay for groceries while learning something new. He sold real estate. He raised replacement heifers. He carried on with the matter of managing Lewis Brothers after his father’s passing. He got his auctioneer license. He pivoted. He pivoted again. On the weekends, he relaxed by casually building turkey pens and off-grid cabins, or digging farm ponds the size of small lakes. He was a grassroots community organizer, raconteur, and a wry charmer made for Maine politics. After serving as Palmyra town selectman for a decade, Bob ran for the Maine House of Representatives in 1984, defeating the longtime incumbent in a heavily Republican district by nearly 20%. He went on to serve five terms as a House Democrat, tirelessly advocating for his constituents and earning a reputation in Augusta as an unapologetic centrist, a consensus builder, and an outspoken champion for Maine agriculture. His legislative service ended with electoral defeat to an opponent who later became a close and valued friend, but he joked that the loss worked out for him in the end, because it led him to his next chapter: a significant career as a lobbyist. He loved John Deere tractors, researching genealogy, listening to old country music, and riding around in his pickup truck. He despised nothing and nobody, save for free jazz and bullies. He had a soft spot for underdogs and outsiders. He wasn’t afraid of strong, opinionated women. He was crazy about his grandkids and the feeling was mutual. He did a lot with the life he was given and was a self-professed lucky man. But if you asked him about the best thing that ever happened to him, he would tell you without a moment’s hesitation that his longest and luckiest winning streak started on November 19, 1966, the day he eloped with a hot ticket from Palmyra by the name of Marilyn Temple. Together, Bob and Marilyn raised four kids and built an incredible life out of little more than a shoestring and a shared dream of a family, a farm, and a house full of babies and books. Along the way there were many Griswold-style car trips, basketball games, and jazz band concerts. There were laugh-filled get-togethers of friends and family at the kitchen island, around the pool, and on the porch. There were also impromptu kitchen dances. Bob could really dance and found his ideal dance partner in love and life when he met Marilyn. He was quietly but steadfastly always there for his kids and grandkids, whether to grill a steak, to milk a ridiculous prop for a laugh, or to help them out of a jam. Even though the tomatoes didn’t always make it in his outlandishly ambitious vegetable gardens, there were always bumper crops of love and laughter. He was a true original and a rural rockstar who lived by his own playbook, and in doing so helped the people around him dream big, laugh more, and be more unapologetically themselves. He is survived by his beloved wife Marilyn Temple Tardy; his children Joshua Abraham Tardy, Jason Isaac Tardy, Jared Levi Tardy, and Jessica Temple Tardy; his grandchildren Miles Levi Tardy, Isaac Joseph Tardy, Alexis Mariah Tardy, and Amelia Jane Tardy; his sister Joanne Calderbank. He is also survived by several treasured nieces, nephews, and daughters-in-law. He was predeceased by his parents; and his sister Jo Ann (Tardy) Patterson. Due to COVID-19, there will be no services at this time. Interment will be at Riverside Cemetery, Newport. A public celebration of life is planned for a later date. Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Crosby & Neal, Newport. Those who wish may leave written condolences at http://www.CrosbyNeal.com.In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Newport Cultural Center c/o Newport Town Office23 Water Street Newport, ME 04953

Copy the Story Link