Frankie Hardaway, SEPTA’s first female train operator, business owner, and expert seamstress, has died at 88
Known by friends and colleagues as the First Lady of SEPTA, she spent 17 years as a subway train operator on the Broad Street Line. She also owned a dry cleaning business with her husband.
Frankie Hardaway, 88, of Philadelphia, SEPTA’s first female train operator, business owner, expert seamstress, and neighborhood mentor, died Thursday, Nov. 10, of pancreatic cancer at her home in East Oak Lane.
Mrs. Hardaway joined SEPTA in 1977 as a trolley operator based at the Luzerne Depot in North Philadelphia and, according to a 1999 SEPTA newsletter, “was destined to become a legend.” On Dec. 31, 1982, she completed her monthlong training and began working on the Broad Street subway line as SEPTA’s first female train operator.
In a tribute, Mrs. Hardaway’s family said she faced the challenges and obstacles that many Black women of that time encountered with “class and dignity … to eventually become a respected and valued teammate within the train operator community.” Mrs. Hardaway retired from SEPTA in 1999, and her coworkers honored her groundbreaking career with a gala at the Fern Rock Transportation Center and a commemorative plaque.
Before SEPTA, Mrs. Hardaway operated a dry cleaning business with her husband, worked in data entry for the Internal Revenue Service, and excelled as a seamstress. She was so skilled as a clothier that she made garments for herself, family, friends, and anyone who needed them. Her son, Brian, said: “She always made you feel welcome. She had a passion for helping people.”
Her family said: “Strong-willed and independent, she encouraged her family and friends to always learn more, study hard, and never back down from a challenge.”
Born March 29, 1934, in Augusta, Ga., Frankie Gadley and her parents moved to West Philadelphia in 1942. She graduated from West Philadelphia High School in 1953 and became a practical nurse. However, she discovered the sight of blood made her uncomfortable, and she moved on to other pursuits.
She married Lucius Hardaway in 1956, and they had sons Eric, Kevin, and Brian, and lived in West Oak Lane. She and her husband divorced later. He and their son Kevin died earlier.
An avid reader of newspapers and nonfiction, Mrs. Hardaway was a baker, poll worker, and tireless home renovator. She lived in big old houses in West Oak Lane and later East Oak Lane, and was forever replacing fixtures, painting, and helping her son Brian hang sheets of dry wall.
She would even unsettle her family by clambering onto the roof to clear away debris. “She certainly was not afraid of heights,” Brian Hardaway said.
She liked to attend Broadway shows, amble around amusement parks, and lounge at the beach. She and her son Brian traveled often, and, driven to meet new people and see new places, she sometimes took off on her own, leaving him to wonder where she was.
She called him one time when they were together in Munich, Germany, and said she had taken a bus ride and met some wonderful people. Where are you now, her son asked. She wasn’t really sure, she said, but she could see horses and cows. After that, he asked her to avoid buses and stick to the subway.
Generous, wise, and pragmatic, Mrs. Hardaway often took neighborhood children under her care, teaching them and her own sons how to cook, sew, and clean when they were young. “She was always there for everyone financially and emotionally, and my friends considered our home their second home,” Brian Hardaway said.
She liked spending time with Mary Helen Richardson, her lifelong best friend, and was not shy about sharing her opinions when she considered them important. Her family said: “She believed that the foundation for happiness was sharing your blessings with those you care for and love.”
In addition to her sons, Mrs. Hardaway is survived by three grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and other relatives.
A celebration of her life is to be held from 1 to 5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 11, at the Ridgeland Mansion, 4100 Chaumounix Dr., Philadelphia, Pa. 19131.
Donations in her name may be made to the Lustgrarden Foundation for pancreatic cancer research, 415 Crossways Park Dr., Suite D, Woodbury, N.Y. 11797.