Susan Shelby (Patterson) Harding, age 78, died peacefully at home from metastatic brain cancer on October 27, 2o20. She was born July 13, 1942 in Louisville, Ky., the daughter of George C. and Kitty Park Patterson. She graduated from the Louisville Collegiate School in 1960 and from Radcliffe College in 1964 as a Phi Beta Kappa art history major.
She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Douglas Burnham Harding, and her two children, Susan Allen and her husband Woody of Knoxville, Tenn., and Douglas Harding, Jr. and his wife Kathleen of Great Falls, Va. She was proud of her three grandsons Alexander, William, and Parker. Prior to raising her family, Susan worked as a system programmer at the New England Telephone Company.
Many words are needed to describe the full “sum and substance” of Susan. Loving, committed, curious, elegant, inclusive, and a doer, to name a few. Her interests were many, including music, art, dance, theater, reading, and travel.
Active in town affairs, Susan served as president of the local league of Women Voters for many years and various town committees and boards including the Recreation Committee, Town Archives, and the Cemetery Commission.
Susan remained active in alumnae affairs after graduation through the Radcliffe College Alumnae Association. She chaired alumnae councils, and various committees. She was active in class activities and co-chaired her 50th reunion. She was a member of the Happy Committee, which helps maintain discipline and decorum for the celebration of Harvard Commencement each year, and also served as president of the Harvard Club in Concord for many years.
Susan was an avid gardener and horticulturist. She was an active member of many groups including the Native Plant Trust and the Lincoln Garden Club, and served as president of the Massachusetts chapter of the Rhododendron Society.
She enjoyed history and genealogy as an active member of the Order of the First Families of Virginia and the National Society of Colonial Dames in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She also served as director of Stratford Hall in Virginia and president of the Margaret Coffin Prayer Book Society in Boston.
Susan’s interests in history and education intersected nicely with her love of travel. She and her husband enjoyed many trips to Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America, often connecting with former Harvard students they had hosted for over 30 years through the Harvard International Student Office.
Susan will be remembered and missed by her family and many friends and organizations. Her burial will be private as she wished. Memorial contributions in her name may be made to the National Society of Colonial Dames in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 55 Beacon St., Boston MA 02108 or the Native Plant Trust, 180 Hemenway Rd., Framingham MA 01701. Condolences may be left on her obituary page on the Concord Funeral Home website.