On Wednesday, September 18, 2024, Michael (Hardy) Lenhardt, beloved husband, brother, father, and grandfather, passed away at age seventy-seven. Born in Vienna, Austria, he earned an engineering degree from the technical institute in Mödling before immigrating to Canada. He married his wife Holly in 1971, and together they settled in New Jersey where they raised their two boys.

As a life-long car enthusiast, Hardy started the BMW Car Club in Canada, worked at both Peugeot and BMW, and loved tearing it up on the pavement at BMW club competitions. When he couldn’t be at a race in person, his next favorite thing was to watch Formula 1 on TV, and the sound of high performance engines meant that he was in his happy place. When not regaling family and friends about the latest and greatest car racing technology, he enjoyed sailing, hiking, skiing, snorkeling, or a cold European pilsner while feeding his backyard chipmunks. Upon his retirement in 2011, he began regularly volunteering to maintain the network of trails in the Rockaway Township NJ area, eventually managing a team of 10 people.

Hardy was best known for being upbeat and optimistic, even despite his odds when he was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome in 2014. He never complained about his health challenges. He leaves behind his wife Holly, their sons David and Stephen, his daughter-in-law Karen, his granddaughter April, his sister Sylvia, and his brother-in-law Peter. A memorial service will be held in Rockaway NJ at a later date. In lieu of giving flowers, the family asks that those who are able make a donation to the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference.

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