Louis R. Harding

1929 - 2014

Louis R. Harding

AGE: 85 • Plainfield

Watchung: Louis R. Harding, of Watchung, co-founder of Car Rentals, Inc. in Piscataway, died on December 17, 2014. He was 85. Mr. Harding was born on November 26, 1929, in Plainfield. He graduated from Plainfield High School in 1948 and enlisted in the U.S. Army. After his return in 1951, he married Joan O'Keeffe, of Plainfield, and bought a house on Warfield Road in North Plainfield.

At Plainfield High he was a pitching standout on the varsity baseball team. He earned a tryout for the St. Louis Cardinals organization and was offered a professional contract but chose instead to serve his country. Cpl. Harding served as an M.P. at West Point and then for 9 months as a guard at the Koje-do prisoner-of-war camp in Korea. The prisoners had a name for him: Number One Eyes, for his striking blue eyes.

Lou and his childhood friend Sylvester Sullivan opened an auto shop in 1953 in North Plainfield and later acquired an Avis Rent-a-Car franchise, which the two built into the country's largest independent Avis franchise. He also co-founded and later sold Hillsborough National Bank and was a successful investor.

In 1964, Lou and Joan moved their growing family to Watchung, where he became active in building St. Mary's Stony Hill Church and served as a trustee for many years. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Elks. He and his wife Joan were also named members of the Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulchre. Lou, as he was known, was devoted to his family, his faith and his country. He loved telling jokes, skiing with his family, eating Jersey corn, tomatoes, Maryland crabs, and spending time on Long Beach Island and Caneel Bay in St. John.

Lou is survived by his wife of 60 years, Joan; his sons Larry and his wife Patricia, Richard, John and his wife Diane and Michael; daughters Donna Douglass and her husband Dave, Barbara Harding Cooney and Susanne Harding; 22 grandchildren; and many, many friends.

Visitation will be held on Friday, December 19, 2014 from 2-4 & 7-9 p.m. at Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Blvd., Watchung. A Mass of Resurrection will be held on Saturday, December 20, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Mary's Stony Hill Church, 225 Mountain Blvd., Watchung. Entombment will follow at St. Mary's Stony Hill Mausoleum in Watchung. To send condolences go to www.higginsfuneralhome.com