Harriet Bridges Hathaway died peacefully at the age of 91 on Nov. 26th, 2025 from natural causes. Harriet made the world a better and more beautiful place through her love of family, the church, teaching, hard-work, generosity, gardening, flower arranging, painting, needlepoint, and work with multiple civic organizations.

Harriet was the daughter of Daniel Thurber Bridges and Jeannette Bickford Bridges and was born in Framingham, MA on July 11th, 1934. She excelled scholastically in schools in Kittery, ME, where she was awarded the Good Citizenship Award in her senior year for her leadership, service, dependability, and patriotism. Harriet graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1956, where she majored in History and subsequently took several post-graduate teaching courses.

Harriet married David Benjamin Hathaway on March 24th, 1956 in Kittery, ME. David's naval career took the family to many places including Panama, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, California, and Virginia. Throughout their travels, Harriet and David made many friends with whom they maintained life-long connections. While raising their two young children, Stephen and Jeanne, Harriet taught elementary school in each of the locations David was stationed in during his naval career. She loved children and used her creativity to make learning fun.

When David retired from the Navy, he and Harriet settled in Lexington, MA, where Harriet began her second career as a horticulturist. She worked at Lexington Gardens for 35 years, where she enjoyed assisting customers on every kind of plant-related question at the information desk. She lectured widely on a myriad of gardening topics including indoor plants, terrariums, and flower arranging. Harriet was an active member of the Lexington Field and Garden Club and served as President from 1984-1986. She organized the first tour of private gardens in Lexington, which became a biennial event. Harriet was also the chairman of Art-A-Blooming, a biennial event hosted by the Lexington Field and Garden Club and the Lexington Arts and Crafts Society featuring flower arrangements complementing local artist's paintings. She also served leadership roles in the Garden Club's Tuesday Morning Study Group and the Carleton-Willard Garden Club, and was a member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, the Massachusetts Garden Federation Landscape Design Council, and volunteered at Lexington's Interfaith Garden.

Church was an important part of Harriet and David's lives wherever they lived. In Lexington, they were members of Hancock United Church of Christ for over 50 years, where Harriet served on the Flower Committee, Collation Team, and as an usher. Harriet and David also loved classical music. They had season tickets to the Boston Symphony Orchestra for many years, and in more recent years, attended and became sponsors of the Lexington Symphony.

Harriet strongly believed in the importance of history and education. She was an active member of the Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College and American Association of University Women (AAUW), and served as president of AAUW's Bedford-Lexington branch. Harriet was also a volunteer for the Friends of Lexington's Cary Memorial Library. Harriet's family ancestry traced its roots to colonists before 1776, which entitled her to be a Colonial Dame. Harriet loved creating opportunities to keep history alive for the public. As a member of the Lexington Historical Society, Harriet chaired several Holiday Open Houses at Lexington's historic Buckman and Munroe Taverns. She was also a co-chair of the Hancock-Clarke House herb garden, where she educated visitors about the culinary and medicinal use of herbs in colonial times. Harriet was also a member of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Harriet also loved travelling and learning about other countries' history and culture. Over the course of their lives, Harriet and David travelled to over 50 countries, with trips to Egypt and Machu Picchu being especially memorable.

Following retirement, Harriet and David were summer residents of Islesboro, Maine. Along with hosting family and friends and working on countless painting and wallpapering projects, Harriet still had energy to participate in several community organizations. She and David attended the Second Baptist Church Islesboro, and Harriet was a member of the Church Sewing Circle and chaired the church's large rummage sale for three years. She was also a member of the Friends of the Islesboro Library, a steward for the Islesboro Island Trust, and an active member of the Islesboro Historical Society, where she worked in the archives and served many years as Secretary.

Harriet is survived by her husband, Lieutenant Commander David Benjamin Hathaway, son Stephen and his wife Janet of Andover, MA, and her daughter Jeanne and her husband Dr. Thomas Scammell of Wellesley, MA, four grandchildren, Sarah, David, Benjamin, and Christopher, and two great-grandchildren, William and Elizabeth.

Family and friends are invited to a Celebration of Life for Harriet at Hancock United Church of Christ Church in Lexington, MA on Saturday, January 10th, 2026 at 10 AM. To watch the service online, go to: http://youtube.com/hancockchurch, click on "Live", then click the link to the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to a fund Harriet established for horticultural-related materials and programs at Lexington's Cary Memorial Library. This can be done by sending a check to Cary Memorial Library, 1874 Massachusetts Ave., Lexington, MA, 02420 or donating online at: https://www.carylibraryfoundation.org/ and specifying that the gift is for the "Harriet Hathaway Fund". Memorial gifts may also be sent to the Friends of the Alice Pendleton Library, P.O. Box 87, Islesboro, ME, 04848. Please include your name, address, and email.