Passings: Tim Lardner (Sept. 6)
Born on July 16, 1957, to Vincent and Lois Mae Lardner in Colorado Springs, Colo., he grew up in Albuquerque, where his parents founded Rocky Mountain Stone in 1963. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in business administration/management from New Mexico State University, he worked for the family firm.
Lardner’s operation of Belen, N.M.-based New Mexico Travertine, a sister company to Rocky Mountain Stone, grew from a single processing line in the mid-1980s to a multiple-line, 40,000 ft² facility, along with working travertine quarries in the Belen area.
To support the industry, Lardner served on the Marble Institute of America‘s board of directors from 1992-1996.
Lardner also served on numerous community boards and organizations as a 30-year Belen resident, including the Belen Chamber of Commerce, the University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus development board and the airport advisory board. He also supported his parish of Our Lady of Belen Catholic Church.
In 2005, the chamber of commerce bestowed its Amigo Award to Lardner and New Mexico Travertine for representing the community in a positive manner.
He ran as the Republican candidate for State Representative District 7 in 2008, only to lose in the general election. He gained the party’s nomination for a second try this year and would’ve faced his 2008 opponent in a rematch this November.
Among Lardner’s avocations was cultivating a vineyard south of Belen to make his own wines. He planned to open a winery in Belen’s historic former city hall.
Lardner was diagnosed with duodenal cancer this spring, which later metastasized to his liver; he underwent aggressive chemotherapy, including treatments at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. In a show of support, members of the Belen community held a spaghetti dinner and silent auction Aug. 21 to help offset Lardner’s medical costs.
Lardner is survived by his wife of 23 years, Janice; son Michael; daughters Michelle, Britney and Nichole; father Vincent and stepmother Mary Kay; sister Cindy Mechenbier and husband John; brothers David and wife Barbara, Scott and wife Chris, Jim and wife Daphne, and John; and 15 nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his mother Lois Mae.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Sept. 7 at Our Lady of Belen, followed by interment at Sunset Memorial Park in Albuquerque.
The family requests that memorial donations be made to the American Cancer Society.
A memory book for expressing condolences is available here. An extended obituary is also available online from the Valencia County News-Bulletin.