- Date Of Birth: July 28, 1912
- Date Of Death: March 30, 2010
- State: Michigan
Kenneth Gordon “Ken” Harding, 97, of Midland died peacefully at his home Tuesday morning, March 30, 2010.
He was born on July 28, 1912, in Chilsworthy, Devon, England, the first son of the late Henry Richard Harding and Helena (Stenlake) Harding. The family immigrated to the United States in 1913, first moving to Neagunee, Michigan, then to Ironwood and then to Fenton in 1922, when Ken was nine years old.
At seventeen, Ken graduated as valedictorian of his Fenton High School class of 1929. He came to Midland to work for The Dow Chemical Company first in 1934 with special encouragement and assistance from Roy Osmun. He left Midland to study at The University of Michigan, earning his Bachelor’s of Science degree in chemical engineering in 1939. Returning to Midland, he worked for The Dow Chemical Company for 36 years, first in the organic research laboratory and later in production control and planning, retiring in 1972 as manager of manufacturing planning.
He married the former Edith Virginia Clark on October 25, 1941 and Audrey Ethel Snyder on May 20, 1961.
Ken was an accomplished pianist and organist. He was the organist at the Presbyterian Church in Fenton, the First Presbyterian and Memorial Presbyterian Churches in Midland and was a substitute organist at several Midland churches. He played his own original arrangement for the dedication of the Memorial Presbyterian Church in 1953. He established the music program at Chapel Lane Presbyterian Church in 1960, telling choir members to “listen to each other when you sing. It will help you much.”
Before and after his retirement in 1972, he was active in the Midland Center for the Arts and the Little Theatre Guild as a photographer. His love of photography began in 1930 when he bought an Argus camera, made in Ann Arbor. His photographic works were on display in an exhibition called “Through Ken’s Lens” at the Midland Center for the Arts in 1983.
Ken was active in the Bullock Creek PTA while his children were in school. He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Center for the Arts (1977-1978), and as Chairman of the Midland Symphony Orchestra Society. He served on the Board of Directors of the Theatre Guild. He is a life member of the Advisory Board of the Salvation Army of Midland, Michigan, and he served several terms as a member of the Board of Directors of Family and Children’s Services (1981-1988, 1989-1992). He received the Stagecrafter Award (1984-85) from the Theatre Guild of the Midland Center for the Arts. He is an ordained elder and served at Memorial and Chapel Lane Presbyterian Churches.
Ken was instrumental in establishing a special project in 1978 called Matrix: Midland. This project, which started as a three-week festival in June with events and themes combining the arts and sciences, is now a year-round professional program offering a mix of headline performers and emerging new artists.
A world traveler, he enjoyed hiking in Switzerland, riding his bicycle in England, and taking photographs on trips throughout Europe, The Virgin Islands, and the USA.
Ken was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Alwyn Harding Conant and his brother Clifford Harding, and a nephew Brian Harding. His first wife Virginia (Clark), the mother of his children, died in 1960.
Left to cherish Ken’s memory are his wife, Audrey, of the home; his children Alan Roy (Lalah) Harding of Columbus, Ohio; Margaret Alice (Stan Halpin) Harding of Kansas City, Missouri; and Katharine Eva (Bill Plate) Harding of Columbus, Ohio; a brother Roswell Harding of Melbourne, Florida, a sister Loreen Harding MacNeil of Alpharetta, Georgia; three grandchildren, David Alan (Kirsten Andersen) Harding, Mary Ann Harding, and Kenneth Howard Harding; a great-grandson, Frederik Augustus Harding; his former daughter-in-law Ann Heron Moe; and many nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews, and great-grand-nieces and great-grand-nephews.
The family would especially like to thank Joy Lance and MidMichigan Home Care (Hospice) and Paulette Bird, Debbie Church, Angela Green, and Jean Schneider who enriched his life at the end.
