Wilson “Bud” David Harding, a proud Elder and Eagle Clan citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, passed away peacefully at his home in Mashpee after an extended illness.
Bud was born April 23, 1934, in Bournedale, MA son of Charles D. Harding, Chief White Feather of the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe, and Eleanor Pocknett Harding, Princess Blue Feather of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. He was the youngest and last surviving of five siblings.
Bud was raised in the Bournedale Valley along the Herring Pond River and attended the Sagamore Grammar School and the New Bedford Vocational High School. After High School, Bud worked as an auto body technician and became a police officer for the Bourne Police Department.
As an officer Bud frequented a local coffee shop, Ma’s Donuts, in Buzzards Bay where he met Joan Gendron and fell in love. Bud and Joan married in 1957 and celebrated 63 years together before she passed away in 2020.
They started their family in Buzzards Bay, and soon after, Bud made a career change to work in full-time auto body repair, working for local shops before going out on his own opening Bud’s Auto Body in Fairhaven in 1968.
He moved with his family to Acushnet in 1964 before establishing the family home in Mattapoisett in 1970. In 2004 Bud sold the body shop and retired. Bud and Joan moved to Mashpee in 2014.
Bud enjoyed riding BMW and Harley Davidson motorcycles and was a member of the New England Vikings Motorcycle Club. He was also an avid gun collector and champion marksman. He spent time weekly in competitive shooting meets and was a member of the Acushnet Rifle and Pistol Club. He enjoyed horseback riding with his children while they were growing up and owned several horses, boarding them in Fairhaven.
Later in life, Bud enjoyed flying his Cessna airplane to various regional airports for Sunday breakfasts and was a member of the New Bedford Regional Pilots Association. He especially enjoyed spending time with his mother Eleanor, assisting her in the maintenance of her Aquinnah properties on Martha’s Vineyard.
Bud was an active citizen of his tribe and enjoyed attending powwows, social events, and regularly attended the Elder’s Lunch program. He was also a founding member of the Elders Judiciary Committee, where he was recently honored as a lifetime member.
Bud was a joyful man and a devoted friend to many. He adored his wife, Joan, to her dying day and took great pleasure in spending time with family, especially his grandchildren.
A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, February 15, with a calling hour at 10 am and a service at 11 am at the Old Indian Meetinghouse in Mashpee, followed by repast and fellowship at the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Government Center.
A private burial will be at the Riverside Cemetery in Fairhaven where his remains will be interred with his wife Joan and daughter Melanie.
Bud is survived by a daughter, Melissa A. Harding, of Wellborn, Florida; two sons, Mark D. Harding and his wife Paula Peters of Mashpee and Matthew S. Harding and his wife Gretchen Harding, of Bexley, Ohio; five granddaughters, Chrystal Pelletier of Lake City, Florida, Bryn Aquinnah Harding of Morgantown, West Virginia, Lili Harding of Bexley, Ohio, Margaux Harding of Madison, Wisconsin, and AudreyAna Sterling Harding of Mashpee; one grandson, Atticus Wilson Harding of Mashpee; three great-grandchildren, Novah Jade Coppinger of Lake City, Florida, and Charlotte Drew Shaw and Brooks Dee Shaw of Morgantown, West Virginia; and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his daughter, Melanie Marie.
