Services for Mertis Hart Harden, age 88 of Dudley, will be held at 2:00 PM Saturday, March 22, 2014 at First Independent Methodist Church. Burial will follow at Dublin Memorial Gardens. Rev. Paul Brown, Brother Zenus Thomas, and Rev. George Grimes will officiate. The family will receive friends from 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM Friday at Townsend Brothers Funeral Home. Mrs. Harden died Thursday, March 20, 2014. Mrs. Harden was the oldest member of First Independent Methodist Church. She enjoyed baking pound cakes for people, fishing, and working in her garden. Mrs. Harden was preceded in death by her parents, Tom D. "Scrap" Hart and Etta Daniel Hart; husband, James Murray Harden; brothers, Elmer Hart and Leon Hart; and sister, Edith Hart. Survivors include her daughter, Sandra Harden, and sisters-in-law, Louise Fountain, and Mary Sabine, all of Dudley. Ted Calhoun, Don Bradshaw, Jerry Warren, Ben Gay, Gerald Payne, and Carl Knight will serve as pallbearers. James Woodard, Carson Knight, George Gornto, Dr. Steven Garner, Jerry Calhoun, and John Watson will serve as honorary pallbearers. Flowers are accepted or contributions may be made to First Independent Methodist Church Building Fund, 1357 Claxton Dairy Road, Dublin, GA 31021.