Rory Dewain Hardesty

On May 18, 2024, Rory Dewain Hardesty passed away after losing his long & treacherous battle with cancer at Gateway Banner Medical Center. He was 66 years old. Rory was born in Coulee Dam, Washington on February 23, 1958 to Rex and Shirley Hardesty. The family moved quite a bit and Rory spent some time in Florida, California, and Arizona, before he settled down in Scottsdale, Arizona. 

Rory graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in journalism, & he ended up working for Charles Schwab for years and found a passion being a stockbroker for the majority of his life. He was also a writer to his core, and always dreamed of becoming a well- known author. 

Besides writing, Rory enjoyed movies and screenplays. He loved film festivals, and always had the best movie recommendations. He loved to travel, and did quite a bit of traveling in his lifetime. He drew a lot of pictures to go with his writing, and was very into sci- fi. 

He enjoyed being around his family and friends, and was always known to crack a joke, even if we didn’t get it most of the time. 

Rory is survived by his mother and father, Shirley and Rex, his siblings, Harlan Hardesty, Dan Hardesty, Lisa Schmid & brother in- law, Casey Schmid, along with his nieces and nephews, Mason, Connor, Mackenzie, Summer and Jake. 

A public memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 7th, 2024 at the Whitney & Murphy Funeral Home, 4800 E. Indian School Road in Phoenix.