John Charles Harrington

Northborough

John Charles Harrington, age 89, passed away peacefully on June 22, 2024 at St. Patrick's Manor in Framingham, MA, surrounded by his loving family. He was born in Elizabeth and raised in Mountainside, NJ until he and his bride, Carol Marie (Zande), moved to Indianapolis, Indiana in 1961. In 1967, John and his late wife Carol moved to Northborough, MA where they lived for 56 years.

John is survived by his six children, Denise Staubach and her husband Peter of Newton, MA; Catherine Naughton and her husband Joseph of Natick, MA; Michael Harrington and his wife Karen of Franklin, WI; John Harrington of Portsmouth, NH; Joan Provencal and her husband Tony of Southborough, MA; and James Harrington and his wife Ashley of Wilmette, IL. He was predeceased by his son, Timothy Harrington, who died in 1974.

John was a loving grandfather to Sarah and Emily; Charlie and Ben; Daphne; Shannon, Owen, Jimmy, Michael and Stephanie; and Luke and Evie. He was predeceased by grandson, Christopher Naughton.

Also surviving are siblings J. Timothy (Maureen); Mary (John) Post; and Margaret MacNeill. John was predeceased by brothers, Paul, Jr. and James, Jr. and brother-in-law, Jay MacNeill. John was the beloved uncle to several dozen nieces and nephews.

He was a member of the St Benedict's Prep Class of 1953 and received a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 1957. While at Notre Dame, John maintained the equipment for the "Student Voice of Notre Dame" WND radio station. That often meant repairing or replacing cables in the steam tunnels, which carried heat from the power plants to the buildings on campus—illustrating his roll up your sleeves and get the work done philosophy in life. Upon graduation, he began a 41-year career that started with Lockheed Electronics, then RCA, and more than 30 years with Digital Equipment Corporation, Compaq Computer and HP where he held many different engineering and manufacturing positions.

His participation in the community began at age 9 as a Cub Scout with Troup 73 of Westfield, NJ. Then, he moved up to Boy Scouts and was an original member of the "Order of the Arrow," an honor society within Boy Scouts. At age 17, John earned his Eagle Scout and Bronze and Gold Palms. He ran the scout craft area and was a merit badge counselor during his college summers and became a Scoutmaster as a young adult in 1958. During his adult years in Northborough, John held several scouting positions and received numerous awards including Distinguished Commissioner, District Award of Merit and the Silver Beaver Award, which is given to those who perform many years of community service through hard work, self-sacrifice and dedication. Over his 60 years in Boy Scouts, John mentored many scouts, including his son Jim, and helped them earn the prestigious Eagle Scout Award.

John and his late wife Carol have been parishioners of St. Rose of Lima Parish for more than 56 years and he has served in many ministries. Leveraging his unique engineering experience and knowledge, John solved problems such as fixing the church boiler on cold Winter Sunday mornings, maintained the immersion baptismal water system and supported the technical aspects of planning, design and construction for the St. Rose of Lima renovation project.

Most importantly, John will be remembered as a devoted husband, loving father, thoughtful grandfather, loyal brother and kind friend.

Visitation will be at Hays Funeral Home , 56 Main Street, Northborough on Wednesday, June 26, from 4:00 – 7:00 pm. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 am on Thursday, June 27, at St. Rose of Lima Parish, 244 W. Main Street, Northborough. Burial will follow in Howard Street Cemetery, Northborough.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in John's memory to the Mayflower Boy Scout Council, 83 Cedar St, Milford, MA 01757, ( https://www.mayflowerbsa.org ) To leave an online condolence, please visit www.HaysFuneralHome.com.