Funeral services for Sister Louise Stewart Harden, conducted by the Rev. Sam Giles, and the Rev. Elder B. Holmes, were held Wednesday, May 16, 2012, at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church of Lane. Burial, directed by Henryhand Funeral Home, followed at Greenlawn Cemetery of Kingstree.

Mrs. Harden died Wednesday, May 9, 2012, at Williamsburg Regional Hospital in Kingstree. She was born February 17, 1925, in Williamsburg County, the daughter of the late Robert and Bertha Stewart. She attended the public schools of Williamsburg County. She worked at Lane Elementary School and Lane Head Start Program of Lane. She retired from both programs, where she worked as a cook. She also worked at a hotel during the summer months in Myrtle Beach. She was a member of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church of Lane, where she was a member of the Missionary Society, attended Sunday school, and the Deaconess Board. She was married to the late Deacon Alex Harden. Three children, Robert and Nathaniel Harden, and Rosa Lee Harden Chisolm, preceded her in death. Survivors are: one son, Andrew “Nathan” Harden (Mary) of Lane; one daughter, Brenda Harden (Roy C. Oglesby) of Columbia; a nephew she reared as her own, Walter “Andy” Harden (Evelyn) of Lilesville, North Carolina; an adopted daughter, Mrs. Nora L. Benbow of Manning; like a son, Marshall Gordon of Kingstree; two sisters, Evelyn Page and Dorothy Earl (Robert), both of Washington, DC; four friends she took as sisters, Mrs. Ethel Gordon, Mrs. Azalee Fulton, Mrs. Ida Keels, and Mrs. Martha Salters; 14 grandchildren; and 26 great-grandchildren.