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Yolande Viola Vanasse Hardy, formerly of Northford, passed away on Jan. 22 at the age of 94 in Middletown. She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Victor Romeo Hardy. She will be lovingly remembered by her eight children, Jocelyne (Jerome) Hartigan of Ohio, Gaetan (Gail) Hardy of North Carolina, Laurent (Diana) Hardy of Colorado, Marcia (George) Hollister of Westbrook, Marjolaine (Robert) Bellonio of Essex, Richard (Donna) Hardy of Westbrook, Patricia (James) Barrett of North Branford, and John (Laura) Hardy of Madison; 20 grandchildren; and 32 great-grandchildren.

Yolande gifted her children and grandchildren with a treasure trove of idyllic childhood memories that nurtured close relationships and transcended physical distance. She was happiest with family crowded around her dining room table. She loved traditions like midnight Mass followed by Christmas Eve dinner and Easter Sunday breakfast followed by basket hunts. On Sunday evenings, she served up sumptuous feasts and hosted competitive lawn games. Cousin sleepovers featured frightful sightings of the "Boogey man" whose posture resembled the beloved family matriarch—though she denied it. A plateful of homemade donuts the next morning made everything better.

Yolande's adventurous spirit taught her family that with initiative and determination anything is possible. She once ascended a tree to build a treehouse for her grandchildren, complete with indoor/outdoor carpeting. She and her late husband Victor built a sugarhouse to boil sap collected by their grandchildren from tapped sugar maples. After a long day of sugaring, she would reward her grandchildren with sucre a la creme and maple syrup in snow. She shared many stories from her travels around the world where she visited the Vatican, sampled jambon et fromage on the banks of the Seine, and gazed at Monet's Impressionist paintings in the Louvre. Yolande loved each one of her 20 grandchildren singularly. Each grandchild was as sure as any other that they were definitively her favorite. She gave her children and their children strong roots grounded confidently in a legacy of love and care and wings ready to fly courageously into yet unknown adventures.

A private service will be held for immediate family members.

Memorial donations in Yolande Hardy's name may be made to The ALS Association Connecticut Chapter 4, Oxford Road Unit E4 Milford, CT 06460.