Hardy Family Remembers Officer Ozzie for Generous Heart, Dry Sense of Humor: ‘Truly Haverhill’s Finest’

Officer Osmond "Ozzie" Hardy (Courtesy photograph)

As the City of Haverhill prepares to lay retired police Officer Osmond “Ozzie” Hardy to rest this weekend, the late first responder’s family is remembering him for what they say was a dedication to community, commitment to service and a legacy that will live on in the city he so loved.

The Kevin B. Comeau Funeral Home, handling Sunday’s 1-5 p.m. calling hours, released the obituary Friday, in which the Hardy family paid tribute to the 30-year Haverhill Police officer in their own words.

“Known for his generous heart, giving spirit, and dry sense of humor, he will be remembered as truly, Haverhill’s finest. We know that his legacy will live on through his family, who will continue what he started,” he family said. “Ozzie will be sorely missed throughout the Haverhill community and by all who knew and loved him.”

In the obituary, the Hardy family said Officer Ozzie, who was 68 and died April 10 at Haverhill’s High Pointe Hospice House, was born in Beverly and raised in Hartland, Maine. He served four years in the U.S. Air Force before joining the Haverhill Police Department, where he worked for over 30 years until his 2011 retirement.

During his tenure at the Haverhill Police Department, Hardy—most recently a detective—was embedded in the Haverhill Public Schools system and social service agencies, where he met and befriended the city children and families he served through his Ozzie’s Kids outreach program.

In 2015, The New England Patriots and the family of Robert Kraft recognized Hardy for his selflessness with a Patriots Difference Maker of the Year Award and $20,000 donation to Ozzie’s Kids.

In addition to his wife Gayle, Hardy is survived by his children, Robert D. Hardy and his wife Nichole of Haverhill; Thomas J. Hardy and his wife Kara of Haverhill; Khristina M. Hardy of Haverhill; sisters, Mary E. Flood and her husband Raymond of Stratford, Conn.; Penny J. Bourque and her husband Thomas of Marinette, Wis.; Jaimie Sue Earles and her wife Bonnie Snyder of Lady Lake, Fla.; his beloved grandchildren, Makayla Hardy, Sarah Hardy, Tyler Gentile, Robert Hardy Jr., Damian Mitchell, Thomas Hardy, Jr., Logan Hardy and Owen Hardy; and several nieces and nephews.

Family and friends are invited to attend calling hours on Sunday, April 14 from 1-5 p.m. at the Kevin B. Comeau Funeral Home, 486 Main St., Haverhill. Funeral services will begin on Monday at 9 a.m. from the funeral home with a Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at 10 a.m. at All Saints Church, 120 Bellevue Ave., Haverhill. Burial follows in St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Hilldale Avenue, Haverhill. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to Ozzie’s Kids, c/o N.E. Exchange, 44 Merrimack St., #213, Haverhill, MA 01832.

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