Mary M. (Hughes) Harrington, 97, a longtime resident of West Roxbury, passed away peacefully on Dec. 1, 2014 at the German Center for Extended Care after a long and fulfilling life.
She was the beloved wife of the late John D. Harrington Sr., whom she married upon his return from Europe where he served during World War II.
Mary was born in New Britain, Connecticut, to James and Mary (Kirrane) Hughes, who were born in Ireland. The Hughes family moved to Dorchester and then Malden, where Mary graduated from Chevrus Centennial High School in 1935. A few days after graduating from high school, she went to work at the former Boston State Hospital in Mattapan, where she met her future husband, who also worked there. Mary later joined the staff of the former Brighton Marine Hospital in Brighton. Upon her marriage in 1946, she became a homemaker and later a mother. She and John moved to West Roxbury in 1951.
Mary was a devoted volunteer for many years at St. John Chrysostom Church in West Roxbury and was an officer and member of the Catholic Daughters of America 336 Court John J. Williams in Roslindale, the Parkway Seniors, the VFW Seniors and several bowling teams.
She was often the life of a party with her good humor and piano playing and dancing skills. She enjoyed taking trips around New England and beyond with her siblings, friends and her senior clubs. She was an avid bowler and loved to swim in the ocean waters off Cape Cod. She never got a drivers license so she walked just about everywhere she went, often in her ubiquitous open-toed shoes.
Mary loved her grandchildren and enjoyed watching their dance recitals, theatrical performances and sporting events. She thought each one of them was perfect and did not need any coaxing to talk about their achievements.
She is survived by her daughter, Maureen McInerney and her late husband, John, of Lowell; her sons John D. (Jack) Harrington Jr., and his wife, Anne, of West Roxbury and James J. Harrington and his wife, Mary, of Hyde Park; her brother Thomas Hughes and his wife, Eileen, of Peabody; her sisters Katherine Franey also of Peabody and Cecelia Alexander and her husband, Robert, of Saugus; grandchildren, Mariah, Katherine, Michaela and Matthew Harrington and John Daniel McInerney. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews.
A funeral from P.E. Murray-F.J. Higgins, George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home, 2000 Centre St., West Roxbury will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:30 a.m. in St. John Chrysostom Church, 4750 Washington St., West Roxbury, Massachusetts.
Relatives and friends are invited to visiting hours Thursday from 2 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home.
Burial will be in the family lot in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in West Roxbury.
In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in Mary’s memory to the Resident Activity Fund at the German Center for Extended Care, 2222 Centre St, West Roxbury, MA 02132.