PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The family of former Maine state Sen. Floyd L. Harding announced that he died on Sunday, April 23, 2017, in Ocala, Fla., at the age of 93, following a brief illness.
Harding, a Presque Isle attorney, was elected to the Maine state Senate in 1964. As a freshman legislator, he was selected to become the Senate majority leader. Harding was re-elected to the Senate in 1968 and 1970.
According to a statement issued by Harding’s family, while in the state Senate, he was instrumental in obtaining funding for the Aroostook Residential Center, now part of the Central Aroostook Association, which provides residential and other services to individuals with developmental disabilities. He also led the effort to obtain continued funding, including building construction bonds, for the Northern Maine Vocational Technical Institute, which is now Northern Maine Community College, and the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
Prior to his service in the Maine Senate, Harding had been active in local civic affairs. In 1952, he was a charter member of the Presque Isle Kiwanis Club, for which he later served as president. Harding was a member of the board of directors of the Presque Isle Hospital when it voted to relocate to land on outer Academy Street in Presque Isle. Harding served as the first president of the board of directors for the new A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital.
When the Presque Isle air base closed in 1961, Harding was one of 10 citizens on a redevelopment committee whose vision led to the establishment of a vocational school and several industries that were established in the military buildings.
In 2006, Harding, together with his wife Jean, made a significant contribution to establish an endowment for a scholarship fund for students attending Northern Maine Community College.
Harding served in the United States Army during World War II. He became a prisoner of war during the early days of the Battle of the Bulge. He was interred in the POW camp in Dresden, Germany, when that city was firebombed by the Allies in February, 1945. That event was recounted in “Slaughterhouse-Five” by Kurt Vonnegut, who was interned with Harding.
Details for funeral services have not yet been announced, the family said.
