Obituary of James Harrington

James R. Harrington, former owner of Harrington’s Automotive on Cambridge St. in Burlington, passed away at the Blaire House of Tewksbury on Sunday morning, June 28, 2009. The beloved husband of 56 years of Amelia “Millie” (Pacitto) he was 77 years old. Jim was born in Boston. He was raised and educated in Alston and Brighton. He was the son of the late Charles and Ruth Harrington. He was a veteran of the Korean War serving his country in the United States Marine Corps. Jim was a self employed meat provisions distributor for a number of years. He worked part-time as a Sheet Metal Worker. He had also worked for the US Postal Service. Jim and Millie settled in Burlington in 1962 where they raised their 7 children and became active members in the community. He opened Harrington’s Automotive in 1973 which he operated with his sons for 33 years. He served as Director of the State Gasoline Dealers Association for a number of terms. Jim was very involved in sports while his children were growing up. He was a coach and supporter of the Burlington Baseball Association and Burlington Pop Warner. Jim was also a member of Rotary, the Lions, and the Burlington Knights of Columbus. Jim and Millie traveled extensively visiting such locations as Europe, Austria, and Ireland. He enjoyed camping, gardening, and photography. Jim enjoyed a loving and close relationship with his wife, his children, and his grandchildren. He will be deeply missed. Jim was the beloved husband of 56 years of Amelia “Millie” (Pacitto). He was the loving father of Christine Callahan & her husband Bill of Burlington, James R. Jr. & his wife Lynn of Denmark, ME, Laurence & his wife Sandy of Wilmington, Thomas & his wife Libbie of Watertown, Karen McCarthy & her husband Jim of Hudson, NH, Donna Costa & her husband Rich of Burlington, & Tracy Mushrow & her husband Ken of Nashua, NH. He was the brother of Ruth Harrington of Wareham, and the late Charles, Paul & Leo Harrington. He was also survived by 14 grandchildren, many nieces, nephews & friends. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt. 128 Woburn side) on Wednesday, July 1 at 10:30 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Margaret’s Church, 111 Winn St., Burlington at 11:30 a.m. Visiting hours Tuesday 4-8 p.m. Interment in Chestnut Hill Cemetery, Burlington. Memorials in Jim’s name may be made to New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans, 17 Court St., Boston, MA 02108. Eulogy for James R. Harrington, Sr. By his son Laurence Harrington Thank you for coming to help us celebrate my father’s life Thank you Father Reilly for being here with us today. I have been very impressed with my sisters and brothers on how they stepped up to take care of my father and help my mother; especially my sisters who are an impressive group of women. When I was younger, I felt bad for my father that he had four daughters; they were a hand full. In the past few years I’ve had the opportunity to watch my four sisters take care of my father. In the hospital when my father complained about his butt being soar I watched Karen and Tracy rub it; that’s when I realized why you have daughters. Many of you may already know that my father was a Marine who fought in Korea. My father was proud of being a Marine and his service to his country. He was also proud of my brother Tom who served in the Navy. Tommy would kid my father about the Marine’s and my father would chase him into the yard and always ketch him. My father said that being a sailor made Tommy slow and easy to catch. My father was also proud of my nephew Patrick, a Marine who graduated from the same boot camp as my father and has served in Iraq. My father was proud of all his grand children and enjoyed hearing about all their accomplishments. There was always a lot of love in our house. We have great memories: • Vacations on the cape, • Camping in New Hampshire, • Summer parties with aunts, uncles and cousins by the pool. • My father coached baseball, basketball, football; all the sports we played, • Trips to Ederville Railroad, • Christmas Eve open house. I was always amazed at how my father made the room glow on Christmas Day when we were kids. Years later I realized that it was from the strobe lights he used to get the whole event on film. Whether it was Christmas or any other time of year, my father tried to give us whatever we wanted when we were growing up. I can remember when there were only four of us Chris kept asking for a sister. My father was eager to make her happy; maybe too eager, we then had three more sisters. That is the kind of over achiever my father was. My parents had a special relationship. They had to stick together it was seven against two. After raising seven kids they finally had time for themselves, going on some great vacations together. In the hospital my father would perk up when my mother entered the room; “Hay Amelia”. For me personally, I know I would not be the person I am today without my father. • He thought me not to quit what I started, • A strong work ethic, • Family first, • And what it means to be a good father. I hope I can live up to his example. Thank you Dad. Jim Harrington Family Remembrance by his daughter Karen from his Funeral Mass on July 1, 2009. Good morning everyone. Thank you all for being here with us to wish my dad farewell and for the support you are providing to me, my mom, all my brothers, sisters, our families and to my Dad’s only surviving sibling, his sister Ruth. My dad turned 77 years old earlier this year and in April he and my mom celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary. They met when dad was 17 and mom was 16 so they were actually together for 60 years. How wonderfully blessed they were to have each other for so long. But sadly, as most of you know, 14 years ago my Dad had heart bypass surgery and since that time has suffered with many medical issues. It seemed every time he conquered one illness something else would come along. And when his legs started to fail him and his mobility became an issue he really started to struggle. It was very difficult for him to accept this fate and extremely painful for all of us who loved him to watch. He just didn’t deserve to spend his golden years that way. Fortunately, the love my parents have for one another kept them strong through it all. Together they struggled through the worst of his physical, mental, and emotional challenges. My mom was his angel. She took care of him every day. Her faith in god kept her going and she never forgot her wedding vows…in good times and bad, in sickness and health, until death do us part she was there taking it all on. So here we are; now my dad is my mom’s angel as the lord has finally taken him home to find peace in the arms of his parents and 3 brothers. It makes me wonder what paradise was like on Sunday morning when dad was reunited with Uncle Charlie, Grammy, Grandpa, Uncle Paul, Uncle Leo, and dear auntie Phyllis Rufo. Can you imagine? I can just picture Grammy sneaking off with a celebratory piece of cake and poor Uncle Charlie, as happy as he must be, I’m sure his hair is finally turning gray trying to keep this reunion under control! It warms my heart when I think how happy dad must be with all of them. But we will miss him terribly! Our dad was a fabulous father! Everything he did, he did for his family. He adored my mom and provided her and his children with a wonderful home. We were blessed with many things. But the most important things he provided for us were love, stability, protection, guidance and the knowledge that he was always there for us. Dad was very proud of his family. And we have both mom and dad to thank for our strong family values. We were taught to be kind and caring and never selfish. To work hard for the things we wanted so we would appreciate them and understand the value of our efforts. They taught us right from wrong and to be good to one another. Nothing meant more to them than their children getting along. They knew with seven children there were sure to be disagreements but they told us “no matter what” we had to find a way to work it out and move on. With parents like ours this was easy because together “they” set the best example. Thankfully, for me and my brothers & sisters we have peace in our hearts knowing we made dad happy. He would often say how lucky he and my mom were that all us kids turned out okay, we have good jobs, are raising wonderful families of our own, and since we weren’t too much trouble they might as well keep us! I’m so glad they did. To know our dad was to love him. He was big as life, strong, smart, witty, wise, loyal, hard working, generous, and of course, soo handsome. He was proud to be a Marine who served in the Korean War and we are proud of him. He never forgot to honor the Marine Corps birthday. And when his grandson, Patrick, joined the Marine Corps you could feel Dad’s pride. Dad had a great sense of humor. I loved to harass him and make him laugh. But he’d get even, when I or any of us would say “I love you Dad or I love you Papa” he’d say “I don’t blame you”. But we always knew how much he loved us. He was such a character. My favorite story about dad is the “Hearing Aid”. He drove us crazy with the TV blaring. Finally my mother had enough. Off they went to get a hearing aid. It helped for a while and then dad got tired of it. When he was at the gas station and the cars would roll over the hose which rang the bell inside to alert you a car was at the pumps, the ringing would continue in his ear long after the gas was pumped and the car drove off. So dad stopped wearing it and eventually lost track of where he put it. One day I was at the house visiting. Mom was downstairs cleaning and straightening up their bedroom. Dad and I were in the family room listening to the TV at full volume. We were watching the weather w/ Al Kaprillian and laughing. Finally I asked him to lower the TV because I was getting a headache. Now I could hear mom downstairs vacuuming. Shortly after that the vacuum shut off and mom started venting and using dad’s name in vain. Dad looked at me and said “is that your mother?” I nodded and he said “what’s she yelling about?” I laughed and said “I don’t know, but “you’re in trouble”. He said “oh boy” picked up his eyeglasses and the newspaper and played innocent. Up the stairs Mom came and in to the family room mad as heck. She stood in front of him and said “For cry’n out loud Jim, do you know what I just did?” He peeked over the newspaper and shrugged his shoulders at her. Through gritted teeth she said “well I just sucked up your hearing aid with the vacuum what do you think of that?!” Can you believe he looked her straight in the eyes and said “I guess it was off because it didn’t hear you coming!” Mom couldn’t help but laugh. That was dad, always quick with his wit. I will always have wonderful memories of my dad like going camping, learning to swim and how to dive off the diving board without holding my nose, picking tomatoes from his garden, and eating as many fresh green beans off the vine as I could before he’d shake his head at me and say “hey, that’s enough, put some in the basket”, and how he would sneak extra sweets with us when my mom wasn’t around. I’ll remember the things he loved like having his family together for Thanksgiving and how important that was to him. He loved to travel with my mom, sports with his sons, being spoiled by his daughters, sharing ice cream with his grandchildren and attending their school sing-a-longs and sporting activities, watching his children and grandchildren graduate from high school, college, and even the fire and military academies. He loved photography, rose bushes, his vegetable garden, sprawling flower beds, Maple Walnut ice cream, hot black coffee with an ice cube, saltines with peanut butter, strawberry shortcake, and the chicken bowl at Applebee’s. We listened to Roger Whittaker in the car on our way to Allston & Brighton to see our grandparents, and TV shows that are still my favorites like Murder She Wrote, Matlock, Diagnosis Murder, Perry Mason, Father Dowling, and Disney’s Fantasia…just your basic decent family television. These things will stay with me forever! I had a great relationship with my dad. We all did. We learned so much from him. He seemed to know everything about history and geography. He loved math and he wanted us to love math too. I remember when I worked at the gas station way back when they first started offering discounts for paying cash; he’d send me out occasionally to pump gas and wouldn’t let me use a calculator he’d say “if you can’t figure out the percentage in your head you’ll never learn.” So I learned. He gave great advice too. He always told me to pay myself first; “Your savings account should be the first bill you pay each month.” He was right. I’m so happy to say I’m great at figuring percentages in my head; it comes in so handy when Macy’s is having their big shoe sale, and because I have money in the bank, I can afford to buy two pairs. Thanks Dad! Dad was always interested in how we were doing both personally and professionally. He was so happy that I found my sole-mate and that all his children were happily married. He encouraged all of us to do what we love and to do it to the best of our ability. He accepted each of us as individuals. He respected our decisions and supported us in every way possible. Dad taught us all to be confident and self-sufficient, to have courage and to stand up for ourselves. I started working with my dad at the gas station when I was back in middle school. Preparing his weekly and monthly house charge accounts and tracking the receivables taught me to be organized and detail oriented. Working with his clients helped me hone my customer service skills. These traits stayed with me and were highly regarded throughout my high-tech career and more recently have helped me tremendously as I start to build my own business. He was very proud when I started doing my own thing. He always told me I should work for myself. Thanks to him, I have the courage, confidence, and knowledge to do so. We all have this strength because he inspired us. Dad loved his family and we love him. He was so good to us and we could never imagine a better father for our family. We will always be proud to be his wife, sons, and daughters. And to his 14 grandchildren who were his pride and joy…he loved you all so much and I thank you for the love & joy you gave to him. On behalf of Mom, all of your children, our spouses, and your grandchildren, thank you Dad for all you did for us. You will always be in our hearts. Rest in peace! We love you. I love you.