Dr. Harry W. Harding 1904 - 2002
Dr. Harry W. Harding of Marion, Massachusetts, formerly of Mattapoisett and Walpole, Massachusetts, died on April 1, 2002 at the Sippican Healthcare Center in Marion, MA. He was 97 and a retired dental surgeon. He was the husband of the late Eleanor M. (Soosie) Harding, whom he married on August 3, 1937.
Dr. Harding was born on October 30, 1904, in Somerville, Massachusetts, the son of Harry Chase and Annie Streeter Harding. He moved at an early age to Glendale, California, and attended primary and secondary schools there being graduated from Glendale High School.
Dr. Harding attended the University of Southern California and Oregon State University and, in 1924, was admitted to the pre-medical/pre-dental program at Tufts College in Medford, Massachusetts. He was graduated from the Tufts Dental School in 1929 with a degree in dental medicine (DMD). He interned for a year at the Massachusetts Memorial Hospital in Boston and entered the practice of dentistry as an associate on Bay State Road just off Kenmore Square in Boston. Except for two years as a dentist in the United States Navy during World War II, rising to the rank of Lieutenant, he continued his practice until retirement in 1968.
Over those intervening years, he was a staff member for a number of hospitals and clinics in the Boston metropolitan area among them the Massachusetts Memorial Hospital,the Tufts Oral Surgery Department, the Boston Dispensary, the Deaconess Hospital, the Pondville State Hospital in Walpole where he met his wife who was the librarian there, and the Home for Little Wanderers.
He was a life member of the Massachusetts Dental Society, the Metropolitan Dental Society, the American Dental Association, was a Fellow of the American Academy of Dental Science, and was an original member of the Daland Society.He was also active in community affairs in Walpole for over 50 years. He was treasurer of the Fisher School Parent-Teachers Association (PTA); President of the Walpole High School PTA; member of the Walpole School Committee from 1954 to 1957; was one of the original founders of the Walpole Intermediate Baseball League, now the Babe Ruth League; was a representative to the Walpole Town Meeting from its beginning as a representative town meeting in 1971 to 1990; the Walpole representative to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Advisory Board for eight years; a member of both the Walpole Historical Society and Historical Commission; and a life member, along with his wife, Soosie, of the Walpole Footlighters and the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC).
With the Footlighters, he appeared in numerous productions including Might Must Fall, You Can't Take It with You, and Write Me a Murder. He also served as Business Manager for a number of years and as House Manager after his retirement.
He was a 32 degree Mason and a member of the Aleppo Temple Shrine in Boston and the Azure Lodge AF&M in Walpole; Sigma Alpha Epsilon social fraternity at Oregon State University; and Psi Omega professional fraternity.
Dr. Harding was born on October 30, 1904, in Somerville, Massachusetts, the son of Harry Chase and Annie Streeter Harding. He moved at an early age to Glendale, California, and attended primary and secondary schools there being graduated from Glendale High School.
Dr. Harding attended the University of Southern California and Oregon State University and, in 1924, was admitted to the pre-medical/pre-dental program at Tufts College in Medford, Massachusetts. He was graduated from the Tufts Dental School in 1929 with a degree in dental medicine (DMD). He interned for a year at the Massachusetts Memorial Hospital in Boston and entered the practice of dentistry as an associate on Bay State Road just off Kenmore Square in Boston. Except for two years as a dentist in the United States Navy during World War II, rising to the rank of Lieutenant, he continued his practice until retirement in 1968.
Over those intervening years, he was a staff member for a number of hospitals and clinics in the Boston metropolitan area among them the Massachusetts Memorial Hospital,the Tufts Oral Surgery Department, the Boston Dispensary, the Deaconess Hospital, the Pondville State Hospital in Walpole where he met his wife who was the librarian there, and the Home for Little Wanderers.
He was a life member of the Massachusetts Dental Society, the Metropolitan Dental Society, the American Dental Association, was a Fellow of the American Academy of Dental Science, and was an original member of the Daland Society.He was also active in community affairs in Walpole for over 50 years. He was treasurer of the Fisher School Parent-Teachers Association (PTA); President of the Walpole High School PTA; member of the Walpole School Committee from 1954 to 1957; was one of the original founders of the Walpole Intermediate Baseball League, now the Babe Ruth League; was a representative to the Walpole Town Meeting from its beginning as a representative town meeting in 1971 to 1990; the Walpole representative to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Advisory Board for eight years; a member of both the Walpole Historical Society and Historical Commission; and a life member, along with his wife, Soosie, of the Walpole Footlighters and the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC).
With the Footlighters, he appeared in numerous productions including Might Must Fall, You Can't Take It with You, and Write Me a Murder. He also served as Business Manager for a number of years and as House Manager after his retirement.
He was a 32 degree Mason and a member of the Aleppo Temple Shrine in Boston and the Azure Lodge AF&M in Walpole; Sigma Alpha Epsilon social fraternity at Oregon State University; and Psi Omega professional fraternity.