Warren A Harding

Warren Alvin Harding passed away peacefully on May 31, 2025. Warren was born on May 15, 1931 in Quenemo, KS to Alvin R. Harding and Addie B. Harding.

He was preceded in death by his wife Harriet Ann Harding, his parents Alvin and Addie Harding, a son Kevin Todd Harding, and sisters Betty Sewell, Bernice Sieg, and Margaret Britain.

He is survived by his three children, Brad Harding (Kathy) of Lenexa, KS; Shawn Harding (Thaila) of Tecumseh, KS; and Denise McFall (Randy) of Newton, KS. Seven grandchildren and fourteen great grandchildren, a brother Eldon Harding of Topeka, KS, and a sister Dorothy Clausen (Don) of Kansas City, MO.

Warren graduated from Topeka High School in May 26, 1949.

Warren joined the Navy in November of 1951 where he trained as an aviation electronics technician in Gainesville, Florida and Memphis, Tennessee. He was honorably discharged from active-duty November 1953 and continued to serve in the Naval Reserves until November of 1954. During Warren’s time of service in the Navy, he helped build the electronics for drones made from old piston engine aircraft that were gathering dust and used for combat training during the Korean War. The Navy was switching from the old piston powered aircraft to jet aircraft.

Warren was introduced to Harriet on a blind date by his future brother-in-law, Gene Jones, who was dating Harriet’s sister Marion. Gene and Warren worked together at Naval Depot at Forbes Field in Topeka, Kansas at the time.

Warren and Harriet were married February 5th, 1955 in Topeka, Kansas. They celebrated 67 years of marriage on February 5th, 2022.

Warren went to work for International Business Machines (IBM) in January of 1955 and worked there until June of 1990 after 35 years of service. Warren started out as a Customer Engineer, repairing and maintaining computer systems in Topeka, Kansas. In 1961 Warren and the family moved from Topeka to Lawrence, Kansas where he worked at the University of Kansas managing the maintenance of their computer systems. In 1967 Warren was promoted to Field Manager and the family moved back to the Topeka area where they remained until Warren retired in 1990 as a Duty Manager.

Warren was a dedicated husband and father, who loved Harriet and their children; Brad, Shawn, and Denise. They loved the Lord and together they raised their children to come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Warren and Harriet modeled what a Christian marriage should look like to their children and taught them to use the gifts and talents that God gave them in their lives in whatever church they attended.

They loved to travel taking multiple cruises, bus trips, road trips across America and international travel. They loved playing pinochle with church friends, going out to eat and entertaining.

Most of all they loved their family. Watching their children get married and the addition of Kathy, Thaila, and Randy gave them great joy. Then came the grandchildren; Jessica, Jon, Adrian, Megan, Micah, Matthew, and Sloane, more joy. And then fourteen great grandchildren; Prairie, Audrey, Daisy, Molly, Kaitlyn, Autumn, Cora, Kourtney, Kyle, Elijah, Kathryn, Journey, Sherlock, and Zoe, even more joy.