A second senior missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had died following a weekend car accident in Fresno County, California.
Elder Paul Hardin, 69, of San Antonio, Texas, who was serving with his wife, Sister Mary Hardin, in the California Fresno Mission, died Monday night, May 20, 2024, in a Fresno hospital of injuries sustained in the fatal accident Saturday evening, May 18.
“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,” said Church spokesman Sam Penrod in a statement published Tuesday, May 21, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Sister Hardin, 65, died at the accident scene. Elder and Sister Hardin were stopped at a red light when a pickup truck struck their vehicle at a high rate of speed, according to an earlier Church statement on the accident.
The Hardins had been serving in the Fresno mission since January.
“Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the Hardin family with the tragic loss of these faithful missionaries,” Penrod said. “We pray that all who are mourning will be blessed with strength and comforted in their faith in the Savior Jesus Christ.”
