Obituary for Laverne Rew Harden
On November 28th, 2021, LAVERNE REW HARDEN, age 98, died peacefully in Towson after a full and happy life.
Born August 6, 1923, in White Stone, Virginia to Irving Flowers Rew and Otis (Rushbrook) Rew, Laverne grew up in Baltimore where she attended Eastern High and Huntingdon Baptist Church. She aided the WWII effort first as a clerk in Army finance, and later by overseeing the shipment of penicillin to the European front for the British Overseas Airways Corporation out of Dundalk Airport, and it was there she met Gordon Kingsley Harden in 1945.
After their November 1945 marriage, they briefly relocated to New York City but soon returned to settle in Owings Mills, where they raised three children. Laverne served her community for decades in church, clubs and service organizations, entertained in local theater productions, and won many awards for her bowling, quilting, and golfing. By all accounts, she was “a lot of fun.” She and Gordon were previous members of All Saints’ Episcopal and Mount Zion United Methodist Church.
They retired in 2005 to Carroll Lutheran Village, where they enjoyed many good times with family and friends. Laverne stayed busy volunteering in the gift shop and marketing department well into her nineties, earning her an award as a 2018 Distinguished Volunteer by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Western Maryland Chapter.
Laverne was preceded in death by her beloved husband and all five of her siblings: Irving F. Rew, Jr., Doris Storesund, H. Elwyn Rew, Silva Decker, and A. Jacqueline Gooderham. She is survived by her three devoted children, Suzann H. Carson (Bruce) of Spring Creek, Nev.; Gordon K. Harden Jr. (Katherine) of Middle River; and Karen H. Freedman (Steven) of Reisterstown; eleven loving grandchildren, Jacqueline Zapp-Albin, Erin Harden, Ben Freedman, Gina Land, Deana Harden, Anna Freedman, Celia Garcia Perez, G. Kingsley Harden III, Cisco Garcia, Casey Farrell and Michael Farrell; and twenty-one great-grandchildren, all of whom miss their Mom-Mom very much. We were blessed to have you for so long.
A Celebration of Life service will be scheduled in the near future. Please see Eline’s Funeral Service webpage for updates.
Contributions in Laverne’s memory may be made to Mt. Zion United Methodist Church www.mtzionumc-finksburg.org.
Born August 6, 1923, in White Stone, Virginia to Irving Flowers Rew and Otis (Rushbrook) Rew, Laverne grew up in Baltimore where she attended Eastern High and Huntingdon Baptist Church. She aided the WWII effort first as a clerk in Army finance, and later by overseeing the shipment of penicillin to the European front for the British Overseas Airways Corporation out of Dundalk Airport, and it was there she met Gordon Kingsley Harden in 1945.
After their November 1945 marriage, they briefly relocated to New York City but soon returned to settle in Owings Mills, where they raised three children. Laverne served her community for decades in church, clubs and service organizations, entertained in local theater productions, and won many awards for her bowling, quilting, and golfing. By all accounts, she was “a lot of fun.” She and Gordon were previous members of All Saints’ Episcopal and Mount Zion United Methodist Church.
They retired in 2005 to Carroll Lutheran Village, where they enjoyed many good times with family and friends. Laverne stayed busy volunteering in the gift shop and marketing department well into her nineties, earning her an award as a 2018 Distinguished Volunteer by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Western Maryland Chapter.
Laverne was preceded in death by her beloved husband and all five of her siblings: Irving F. Rew, Jr., Doris Storesund, H. Elwyn Rew, Silva Decker, and A. Jacqueline Gooderham. She is survived by her three devoted children, Suzann H. Carson (Bruce) of Spring Creek, Nev.; Gordon K. Harden Jr. (Katherine) of Middle River; and Karen H. Freedman (Steven) of Reisterstown; eleven loving grandchildren, Jacqueline Zapp-Albin, Erin Harden, Ben Freedman, Gina Land, Deana Harden, Anna Freedman, Celia Garcia Perez, G. Kingsley Harden III, Cisco Garcia, Casey Farrell and Michael Farrell; and twenty-one great-grandchildren, all of whom miss their Mom-Mom very much. We were blessed to have you for so long.
A Celebration of Life service will be scheduled in the near future. Please see Eline’s Funeral Service webpage for updates.
Contributions in Laverne’s memory may be made to Mt. Zion United Methodist Church www.mtzionumc-finksburg.org.