Margaret Nelson Harding

Margaret (Peggy) Nelson Harding, 85, an active outdoorswoman, mother, grandmother, Christian, volunteer, and CPA, died June 2, 2015 at the Jefferson retirement community in Arlington Virginia. She had lung cancer. From 1979 until 1987, Peggy studied & practiced accounting and became a CPA in April 1987. As a private CPA, she did taxes for friends, Jefferson residents, Trinity Presbyterian Church members, & small businesses. Peggy, was born in Norfolk, VA, graduated from Granby HS and Sweetbriar College in 1952 with a BA. She & some Sweetbriar friends spent a few weeks touring France in the summer of 1952. Peggy joined the Navy as a communications officer working in San Francisco where she met Navy Lt. Norton Harding. Peggy & Nort married in June 1955 and were together until Nort’s death in April 2011. As a lifelong outdoorswoman Peggy learned to ski & ice skate when living & raising 3 kids in NH/ME from 1963 to 1968. The family bought a Starcraft tent trailer & spent summers camping at Swains Lake, NH. During a move from Arlington to San Diego the family spent 6 weeks camping its way across the US, visiting many National Parks. As a teenager in Norfolk she learned to sail, a skill she passed on to her teenaged children while living in San Diego. Over the years Peggy would actively bicycle or hike and tried hang-gliding on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Later in life she learned to windsurf & kayak continuing both into her 70’s, even bicycling & kayaking until summer 2014 (at 84!). Volunteering at her senior living community, The Jefferson, and through her church, Trinity Presbyterian, Peggy participated in leadership and non-leader roles. At both Trinity and The Jefferson, as well as reaching out to the Arlington community through Meals on Wheels, she was always engaged and helping out wherever she saw a need. Her daughter, Claire Bogdanoff, died in 1998 from leukemia. Peggy’s survivors include two sons and a son-in-law and their families (5 grandchildren): Lawrence Harding and wife Teri and daughter Courtney and son Tyler of Hampstead, NC; Craig Harding and wife Jan and daughter Jane of Springfield, VA; Steve Bogdanoff and wife Shern of Fairfax, VA and son Steve Jr and wife Jessica of Charlotte, NC and son Shawn of Falls Church, VA. A Memorial Service will be held on June 13th at 2:00 PM, at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 5533 N 16th Street, Arlington Virginia. Memorial contributions may be given to the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org) to aid in cancer research.