Shirley L. Hardsocg

Shirley L. (Kading) Hardsocg, 81, a wonderful wife, loving mother of two, grandmother, and caring friend to countless Wyomingites, died peacefully on November 15, 2023.  Surrounded by friends and family, Shirley departed this world, but her boundless spirit and enduring warmth remain with her family, friends, and those she tirelessly comforted and cared for throughout her life. 

Shirley was born a farm girl in Casey, Iowa on April 21, 1942, to Albert and Naomi Kading.  The middle child of three who survived childhood, she attended school in tiny Casey, Iowa, and eventually took work as a Braniff Airlines Stewardess after high school.  Flying out of Dallas, she was one of many spectators who greeted John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline after they landed in Dallas on that fateful November day in 1963.

Shirley met Martin L. Hardsocg at a dance in Des Moines in 1960, and they married on August 23, 1964.  Shirley and Martin’s adventures took them many places through Martin’s 20-plus years of Air Force service, including tours in Berlin, Taiwan, Maine, Nebraska, and Cheyenne, where they settled in the mid 1970’s.  Shirley had two devoted sons, Marty and Randy Hardsocg, who never strayed far from Shirley’s comforting and loving side.

Shirley worked as a teller with American National Bank, as a secretary with the Wyoming Department of State Lands, and retired after 23 years as a secretary with the Wyoming Department of Education.  Shirley, always seeking to be with people, became a Mary Kay Consultant, where she gave away far more makeup than she ever sold.  It mattered not to her, as she lived to brighten and help friends, and strangers alike.

Shirley was very active in St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Cheyenne, Wyoming, serving in numerous church organizations.  She was a seamstress and loved old clothes, antiques, and especially women’s hats.  Shirley belonged to the Red Hat Society, always donning an elegant hat of some sort.  Helping others came as naturally to her as breathing, and she volunteered to visit and serve shut-ins, the sick, and the elderly, either praying with, or visiting, them throughout her life.

Shirley is survived by her husband Martin, her sons Marty (Shellie) Hardsocg and Randy Hardsocg of Cheyenne, her sister, Gloria Strandquist of Minneapolis, and three grandchildren, Jordan (Cameron) Olson, Seth Hardsocg and Kelsey Hardsocg.  She was predeceased by her parents and younger brother, Marvin.  A service to celebrate Shirley’s life will be held on November 28, 2023, at St. Christopher’s Church in Cheyenne, at 10:00 a.m., with a viewing before.  Those wishing to honor Shirley may contribute to St. Christopher’s Church in care of St. Elizabeth’s Guild.