LDS Church: 2nd missionary dies after traffic accident in California

Sister Mary Hardin and her husband, Elder Paul Hardin. 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

RESNO, California, May 21, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Elder Paul Hardin, a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died Monday after he and his wife, Sister Mary Hardin, were in a traffic collision on Saturday.

Mary Hardin died Saturday at the scene. The senior missionary couple from San Antonio, Texas, were both 65 years old and had been serving together as missionaries in the California Fresno Mission since January.

The collision happened when the couple was stopped at a red light, and a pickup truck traveling at a high rate of speed struck their vehicle.

“It is with much sadness that we inform you of the passing of Elder Paul Hardin on Monday, May 20, 2024, in a Fresno, California hospital,” says a statement issued Tuesday by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“Elder Hardin had been hospitalized since Saturday evening after suffering critical injuries in an accident that claimed the life of his eternal companion, Sister Mary Hardin. Our deepest sympathies and condolences go to the Hardin family with the tragic loss of these faithful missionaries. We pray that all who are mourning will be blessed with strength and comforted in their faith in the Savior Jesus Christ.”

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