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Lap robe lady never tired of giving to others

She was a Methodist church historian for 17 years but was best known for her prolific and colorful talents with yarn.

Grace F. Hardgrove, who crocheted more than 1,000 lap robes for people with disabilities, was laid to rest Thursday at Florida Hills Memorial. She was 87.

Mrs. Hardgrove, who died Monday (Aug. 9, 2004) at the Hernando-Pasco Hospice Care Center in New Port Richey, is remembered for her love of the community and willingness to pitch in where people needed it.

One of the first members of First United Methodist Church in Spring Hill, Mrs. Hardgrove was the church historian for 17 years before retiring in 2003. In that post, she kept records of every event at the church in album after album.

"She was constantly giving and asking if there was something else she could do," said Joanne Chattaway, a member of the church who attended Mrs. Hardgrove's funeral. "She just gave so much to the church and this whole community."

Perhaps what people at the church remember her most for are those lap robes, Chattaway said.

Mrs. Hardgrove sewed more than 1,000 of the robes that were made specifically for people in wheelchairs. They were made to cover a person from waist to toes without interfering with the movement of the wheels.

Made with a double-chain stitch, each of the squares was 6 by 6 inches and consisted of four colors. A typical robe was made of 42 squares.

Mrs. Hardgrove, a native of Queens, N.Y., said in 1998 interview with the Times that she started making the robes because the church had too much donated yarn and she didn't want to see it go to waste. She prided herself on using "every color in the book."

Yarn often would come in through donations, if someone became unable to crochet because of arthritis. Mrs. Hardgrove would buy some herself when donations ran dry.

Two of her children are ordained ministers. Her daughter, the Rev. Gae Davis, lives in Tarpon Springs, and her son, the Rev. Lee Hardgrove, in Hudson Valley, N.Y.

She is also survived by her sister, Eleanor Ueber, of Jacksonville, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Joe Black can be reached at 352 754-6117 or jblack@sptimes.com