Obituaries

Macia Loses Fight with Cancer

Canterbury resident was husband, step-father, former Libertarian candidate for Congress, software and apps inventor.

Hardy Macia, who spent one of his last breaths requesting that Gov. Maggie Hassan approve a medicinal marijuana proposal for New Hampshire with a homegrown provision, passed away earlier today, according to friends and family.

Macia, who had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, was stricken with the disease last summer while he was running for the 2nd Congressional District and assisting former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson's run for president.

Macia was a husband and step-father of two. He worked in Canterbury as an app developer and worked as a civilian for Naval Ship Systems in Pennsylvania, in the 1980s and 1990s. He was president of Catamount Software. 

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Previously, he was a Board of Selectman in Grand Isle, VT, and ran for governor there in 2004, before moving to New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project. He also attempted to run for state representative in New Hampshire in 2010. In his congressional race, he received 4.4 percent of the vote, or about 15,000 votes. 

Friends and family members began posting notes to his Facebook site around 5 p.m. on May 13, when the news began to be shared that he succumbed to cancer.

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Former state Rep. Seth Cohn, R-Canterbury, a colleague and friend, called him an inspiration and a role model for others, who spent his life "working for liberty, right up to the end," earlier today.

"Despite a cancer diagnosis, he continued that run for Congress, hoping to wake a few more people up to the cause of freedom," Cohn stated. "Even in his last days, he took action from, a hospital bed, confronting NH Governor Maggie Hassan to do the right thing and focus on people over politics. I'm honored to have been his neighbor, his friend, and a fellow activist alongside him. May his torch of liberty shine brightly in the heavens, a role model to inspire others onward toward freedom."

Last week, Macia made national headlines as the face of advocacy for medicinal marijuana after posting a video on YouTube while being treated in the hospital. The message was a request that Hassan support her previous position of allowing small quantities of marijuana to be grown, at home, for medicinal purposes. A state Senate committee has opposed the House version of the bill that allowed for up to three marijuana plants to be grown on an eligible patient's property. Hassan voiced opposition to the "home grow" option.

Funeral arrangements were not readily available at post time. 


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