Thomas Oak Hardington spent his adult life as a businessman working between Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Cleveland. In 1991 at the age of 48 he experienced a massive life-changing stroke. At that time, he was told that his life expectancy was maybe five years. His persistence and determination to live to see his family grow up led him to go above and beyond whatever was required. As a result, he lived for thirty years, not five years, and not only defied the odds, but lived a very independent life.

This scholarship has been established in his memory by his family, his three daughters, Wendy Hardington Fitzgerald (1983), Suzanne Hardington Klym (1988), and Meredith Hardington Brady (1993) along with his wife Gloria.