1932-2025: Educator Sherman Harding shared love of history for 39 years

Theodore “Sherman” Harding II retained the information from every book he read and was a fount of knowledge, especially when it came to the Civil War and the first and second world wars.

He was so knowledgeable on the Civil War that several international publications sought his expertise when they were writing their books and magazines. And he was such a fan of history that his honeymoon included a trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

He also had a fantastic sense of humor and an affinity for one-liners that kept his family and friends laughing.

Harding, a 39-year educator, died Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, at the age of 92. He taught several generations of students at Lakeview, in Winter Garden, as it changed from a high school to a junior high to a middle school.

A LOVE OF LEARNING

Harding’s love of history and travel was formed at an early age as the son of a United States Air Force flight surgeon and senior medical director. Harding, who was born Aug. 24, 1932, in the Panama Canal Zone, and his family lived in several countries and U.S. territories.

Harding attended Peacock Military Academy in San Antonio, Texas, before his family settled in Arcadia, which had been pioneered by his mother’s ancestors. He also attended Florida Military Academy in St. Petersburg and graduated from DeSoto County High School in 1950, where his senior classmates voted him Most Witty.

Harding was a student at Florida Southern College when his National Guard unit was activated, thus beginning his service in the United States Army. In 1952, he was honorably discharged and returned to college. At Florida Southern, he was a member of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. He graduated with bachelor’s degrees in biology and history.

Always yearning to learn more, he later earned a master’s degree in history at Georgia Southern College (now Georgia Southern University).

He could remember exact dates with precise accuracy at the drop of a hat, and this was an enormous benefit to him as a history teacher.

WALKING THROUGH HISTORY

Harding began his teaching career in DeSoto County. Looking for a change of scenery, he moved to Orlando after four years to teach history with Orange County Public Schools, starting at Colonial High School before moving to Lakeview. In all, he taught for 39 years before retiring.

Throughout his years in academia, Harding was known as a “history guru.” He had 22 articles published pertaining to the Civil War and served as a consultant for Time Life books and National Geographic magazines on the topic.

It was at Lakeview Junior High that Harding met the woman who would become his wife of 40 years. Harding met the new teacher, Marie Orizondo, who taught social studies and English, on the first day of classes in the fall of 1980 when she asked to sit in an empty seat at his table during lunch. Five years later, they were married. They remained at Lakeview together until his retirement in 1993.

“Sherman and I really hit it off, and it was wonderful,” Orizondo-Harding said. “He was extremely generous, he was hilarious. He was always teaching us. Even though my background is history … he taught us so much. Everybody who came in contact with him loved him.”

Harding loved searching for antiques and war artifacts, and his wife was by his side during his searches. On vacations, it was common for Harding to have to “stop at the courthouse to get records or go to a cemetery to verify dates of someone who passed away,” she said.

Part of their honeymoon was spent in Gettysburg so he could do some research.

The family loved traveling, and Harding’s extensive knowledge of history added to the excitement and joy of the experience. They attended military shows and fed his love of collecting coins and stamps, antiquities and artifacts from the Civil War and World War II.

DADDY’S GIRL

Harding and Orizondo-Harding had one child, Ashley Harding Trolle, two years into their marriage, and she and her father shared a close relationship.

“He was an incredible father,” Trolle said. “He essentially took on almost like a Mr. Mom role. … He took me to school, picked me up from school, took me to lessons. … He was just so loving and never shy about sharing his love with me. … I was the ultimate daddy’s girl.”

The family took many trips to the beach and to destinations around the country that held historical significance, including Colonial Williamsburg and Washington, D.C.

Trolle has so many fond memories of her father and what she learned from him. She said history always has been her favorite subject.

“We hear the term history buff; he was more than that,” she said. “I would say he was a history genius. He talked to me about how history does repeat itself and why it’s so important to respect history and to know it and care about it.”

Never one to miss out on time with his daughter — especially if history was tied to it — Harding took her to see the movie “Titanic” five times when she was 10.

“He actually taught me about the Holocaust when I was very young,” she said. “He did that on purpose because he wanted me to understand what can happen when people hate each other. He wanted me to know and to understand. There’s such great life lessons that I take with me every day.”

Within the last year, Harding had multiple visits to doctors, who deemed him pretty healthy for a man his age.

“Within the last six months … his doctor said that at this rate if he remains healthy, he could live to be 100,” Trolle said. “He pursed his lips and said, ‘I don’t think I want to do that. … I think I’m ready for my next great adventure.’ I’m so glad he said that because it let me know he had a great life and was happy. … It helped me a lot.”

In addition to his wife and daughter, Harding is survived by his son-in-law, Maximillian Trolle, and one grandson, Caladan Reid Trolle.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Susie Stonebraker Harding and Read Benedict Harding Sr.; his brother, Read Harding Jr.; and his cousin, Lorna Mapes Blackwell.

Services and burial were held Feb. 2 at Woodlawn Memorial Park & Funeral Home in Gotha.