Lynn Harding

On Friday evening, March 13, 2026, God saw Lynn could no longer stay in a body of flesh. He peacefully called Lynn home with family surrounding her. Lynn was the fifth child of eight (four boys and four girls) born to Herman S. Nesbit, and Florence Carolyn Jones Nesbit. She received her education in the Public Schools Systems. Lynn worked at General Electric’s Portsmouth plant until it closed. On January 4, 1970, Lynn married the love of her life, her sweetheart, Edward “Sugar Pie” Harding. To this union three daughters were born, Susan (Bunny), Donna, and Nicole. They celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary on January 4, 2026. Lynn was a jack of all trades. After leaving GE, she graduated from the Portsmouth Beauty School of Culture and received her Cosmetology license. Her clientele included family, friends, and church members of all ages. She worked as a hairstylist until her health failed, and even then, the desire to make people beautiful never left. Over the years, Lynn worked with the ladies “in the kitchen” at Noble Street Baptist Church, where she learned how to prepare food for large groups. She and the family would eventually stake on the duties of preparing food for church functions. Lynn also was a faithful tenor in the Gospel Choir, Mass Choir and Combined Choirs. In addition to being a loving wife, mother, sister, cousin, and niece, her greatest role was becoming a grandmother. She and Sugar Pie were so excited to become grandparents. Markeil, Darius, and Kennedey were the icing on the cake and one their proudest moments. While Lynn excelled at cooking, hairstyling, traveling (especially cruises), her favorite pastime was shopping. She could find something that she “needed” at any store. Lynn pushed her cart down every aisle. If you asked what she was looking for you would get one or two responses: I thought you needed something down here, or I’m looking. Lynn was the best at everything, a great wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend. Lynn is predeceased by her husband, Edward “Sugar Pie” Harding, parents, Herman S. and Florence C. Nesbit, three brothers, Lawrence, Floyd, Freddie, one sister, Millicent Nesbit, maternal aunt Esther Mae Rodgers, paternal aunts Martha Hunter, Hazel Scott, and Charity Nesbit. Left to cherish her memory are her daughters, Susan (Bunny), Donna, and Nicole, grandsons Markeil and Darius, and granddaughter Kennedey. She is also survived by two sisters Joann Hill and Fran Faulk (Willie), sister-in-love Francine Harding (Cookie), one brother, Timothy Nesbit, also special sister friends Delores Parker, Sharon Rawls, Sandra Lathan, Barbara Ore, Delores Reed, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, adopted sons, daughters and friend.

Lynn Harding

June 7, 1947 - March 13, 2026