NEW BEDFORD — John J. Harrington, 72, of New Bedford, passed away Thursday, July 11, 2013, at home following a period of declining health.
He is survived by his children: Vivian Merrill and her husband Erik of Chelmsford, MA, Kathleen Harrington, John Anthony Harrington and Jennifer Lynn Harrington and her husband Aaron Mello, of New Bedford. He was grandfather to Cody and Cassandra Merrill of Chelmsford and Evan and Emma Mello of New Bedford.
He was the son of John and Edna Harrington, and is survived by his brother, Mark Harrington and wife Photoula of Dartmouth and their children Alexander, Demetrious and Stephanie and sister, Nancy Harrington of New Bedford. He also leaves behind his former wife and close friend, Deolinda Harrington, ex-wife Waltraud Soares and his devoted sidekick, Sampson (Sam) the cat.
John was a linguist in the United States Air Force during the 1960's, primarily stationed in Germany, and was fluent in German, Russian and 3 other Slavic languages. During his civilian years he worked as a sales representative for E.C. Sherman Company, National Switchboard Corp., Arrow-Hart Switchgear, and Siemens-Allis, Inc.
John enjoyed tinkering with all types of computers, cooking spicy dishes and playing games with his grandchildren. Pop (PaPa) will always be remembered by his youngest grandchildren for his kindness, patience and talent for fixing toys and all things broken.
Relatives and friends are invited to his visiting hours on Monday, July 15, 2013, from 6-8 PM at the Wilson Funeral Chapel, 479 County Street, New Bedford, MA 02740. Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Habitat for Cats at mailing address: HFC, PO. Box 79571, New Bedford, MA (www.habitatforcats.org) or any charity of your choice.