Harold Bird Hart
1940-2020
Harold (Hal) Bird Hart, 80, of Gilbert, Arizona, passed away peacefully on September 29th, 2020, surrounded by his family. Hal was born July 19th, 1940, in Washington, D.C., to Dorothy Bird and Harold Henry Hart. His growing up years were spent in Glencoe, Illinois. After high school, Hal’s family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. There he served in the Army National Guard of Utah as a Linguist in the 142nd Military Intelligence Company.
Hal served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the French East Mission. Upon his return, he married the love of his life, Corey Beatty, on August 24, 1964, in the Salt Lake City Temple. Together they had six children, 20 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Hal earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah and then attended Brigham Young University and graduated with a PhD in physics. After graduation, he moved his family to Macomb, Illinois, for a job at Western Illinois University. He taught physics for 35 years and was also head of the department for the 20 of those years.
Hal was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served as Branch President then Bishop of the Macomb Ward. He was ordained and set apart as Bishop by Ezra Taft Benson when the Nauvoo District became the 1000th stake of the church. He spent many years serving with the youth, which he loved. He also served as a Counselor in the Stake Presidency of the Nauvoo Stake, and served as a member of the high council during the building of the Nauvoo Temple.
When Hal retired from teaching, he and Corey moved to Gilbert, Arizona. In retirement, Hal enjoyed traveling, playing tennis, doing science shows for his grandchildren, and cheering on the BYU cougars. He had a strong testimony of family history and dedicated countless hours serving his ancestors. He had a great love for music and shared that with his family. Hal was a fun, loving, and patient grandpa. He loved and was proud of his family.
He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Judy Winslow. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Corey; his children, Chris (Wendy), Debbie (Trent), Bob (Kristina), Missy (Clark), Mike (Melissa), and Jeff (Grace); Grandchildren, Jared, Marisa (Anthony), Ian, Kayla (Brandon), Andrew, Alyssa, Tyler, Elizabeth, Rachel, Abigail, Alayna, Ben, Lauren, Samantha, Jackson, Charlotte, Quincy, Metzener, Emmett, and Emmaline; Great-Grandchildren, Ellie and Rylan.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Hal’s memory to https://philanthropies.churchofjesuschrist.org/humanitarian-services or a charity of your choice.