Obituary of John Joseph Harrington

John Joseph Harrington was born on March 3, 1927 to Victor and Elva (Dodds) Harrington at the Bentin Maternity Hospital in Huntington Woods, MI. (Their residence was in the town of Royal Oak, MI). He was one of four siblings, a brother, Victor II and two sisters, Marjorie and Rosemary (all three who preceded him in death)

 

As a young high school student, John enjoyed being part of the football team, a sport that he truly enjoyed, and faithfully watched, both professional and college teams, for all of his years. We always knew where he was on Sunday, Monday, Thursday and Saturday during football season.

 

During World War II John served in the Navy which took him to many stations as he fought to preserve democracy. He enlisted in July of 1943 and was honorably discharged in March of 1946. John began as an Apprentice Seaman (AS) and moved through the ranks as Seaman 2nd Class (S2/C), Seaman 1st Class (S1/C), Signalman 3rd Class (SM3/C) and Aviation Support Equipment Tech. (AS)  His service was as a semaphone communications operator. Semaphone communications is the method of visual signaling, usually by means of flags or lights. John was very proud of his time in the Navy.

 

After his separation from the Navy John had various jobs but eventually was led to a position as an apprentice photo engraver in September of 1953. He was a member of the International Photo Engravers' Union of North America for the next ten years.

 

Even as John's birthplace was Royal Oak, MI, whenever asked, "Where is your home town?" John's reply was always, "Detroit!"

His first marriage was to Twila Marie (Mae) Bird in 1956, with whom he had two children Twila and John Jr. (His children preceded him in death, as well as Twila Mae who passed away in January 2021 just a few weeks before John.).  

 

After his marriage to Mae ended, John relocated to Rochester, NY where he pursued a career in sales with Sears & Roebuck, first in the sewing machine department followed by positions in the vacuum cleaner and appliance departments. After a residential move to Farmington, NY John changed jobs to sell RVs at Ballantyne's RVs in Victor, NY.

 

Anna (mom) also worked at Sears which is where she and John met. Our family was blessed when Papa John entered our lives. It was circa 1975 when our mom, Anna, and John began their lives together, a love story that endured for 43 years until Anna's passing in 2018.  For certain there were the usual ups and downs that all relationships experience but their love for one another was never in question. They held hands through it all and laughed often. John was an amazing step-dad even as we were adults when he took on this role.

 Through his excellent salesmanship at Ballantyne's RVs, John won trips to Rio de Janerio, Brazil and also Lucerne, Switzerland. John and Anna enjoyed their travels to these countries and also later independent travels to Mexico and Canada. I believe John & Anna's favorite journey was when they accompanied Anna's daughter Carol and son-in-law Norm to Italy, having the opportunity to visit the town of Pontecorvo from which Anna's parents emigrated. 

Most years their travels to Florida were made with Anna's brother & sister-in-law, Alex & Bonnie, the fabulous foursome! There were countless hours spent laughing and enjoying the feasts at their tables. 

They also enjoyed many cross-continental trips from NY, traveling by train, to visit many relatives and friends.

 

John was affectionately know as Grandpa or Pops to our kids and great-grandpa or Big G to the our kids kids, and Uncle John to many nieces & nephews. He was an intricate member of our family who was loved and appreciated for his caring, sense of humor and generosity.  Unless there was a health crisis (which was rare) John and Anna were always there for the graduations, weddings, baptisms and special anniversaries & birthdays. John was never an outsider, rather a second dad or a third grandparent and a lovable uncle! How lucky we all are! 

 

John and Anna lived in Farmington, NY for many decades, with a winter get-away in Deland, FL where they had many visits from children, grandchildren, cousins, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, always the gracious host & hostess, and the young ones always had that magical visit to Disney World! Once John retired they moved to Deland for the major portion of the year with a summer-get-away in Cape Vincent, Thousand Islands NY. When the back and forth seasonal moving became less enjoyable, they settled in Farmington-Canandaigua NY, Finger Lakes Region where they were very happy, close to most relatives and friends. 

 

In 2014 John & Anna moved to Portland. OR to live closer to Anna's children. This was our joy to have them so close, to be able to share all the little moments that one misses when living far apart. They were so brave and adventurous to make a move across the continent at ages 87 (John) and 92 (Anna). It was quite an adjustment to acclimate to the Northwest temperate rain forest, with rare if any snow but, they managed to enjoy their time living here being close to the family that for many decades had been long-distance. We were able to throw them a grand 95th~90th birthday bash and looked forward to many more celebrations.

 

After Anna's death, John remained living in their apartment with the kind assistance of Anna's son Steve for 10 months. St. Anthony's Village, Assisted Living became John's home in November 2018. In September 2019 John was transferred to the Memory Care at St. Anthony's, a cozy cottage of twelve residents, of which he was the only male. John often referred to his friends in the cottage as "his harem", always the joker! He was extremely happy living in the cottage, with an incredibly wonderful, caring staff. We never worried about John as he had the best home one could have when one needs 24 hour care. We are ever grateful for the peace of mind that St. Anthony's provided us.

 

When the pandemic hit our community, we no longer were able to visit John, which was very difficult. Phone calls were not easy as John's hearing impairment and memory decline often times created a disconnect with communicating. We eventually found ways in which we could have video chats. There were times when the technology confused John but it was still a joy to see him, hear his humor and watch him laugh.

John tested positive for covid-19 right before Thanksgiving 2020 but had a very mild case, only a light cough and a bit of fatigue. What a trooper! He was quarantined in his room for the prescribed amount of time and before Christmas was again enjoying the company of fellow residents. 

On January 3rd John took a fall in the community living room and was taken to the hospital. He fractured his hip and needed a partial hip replacement which he had on January 4th. By January 8th he was well enough to be transferred to a rehab facility and was doing quite well and we all were looking forward to the time when we could resume video visits and eventually in-person visits. Sadly, on January 28th John was found unresponsive and was taken to the hospital where he passed on January 29, 2021 due to complications developed after surgery.

 

It is so sad that we had not been able to see John for almost a year, more for others.  He always expressed how much he missed Anna. A dear friend said that she could hear Anna saying to John, "What took you so long?!" And that is our comfort. John is no longer struggling to hear, to remember, to heal. He is in a place of comfort and serenity. And he will always live on in the hearts of those who love him so dearly, his sense of humor keeping us laughing. 

 

John is survived by his grand-daughter, Desiree (Nick) McMahon & great-grand-daughters, Mia & Liv, as well as his "adopted" family: Son, Stephen (Patty Donatelli) Tomasella, daughter-in-law Gerry Tomasella, daughters, Carol (Norm) Tomasella-Shaffner & Filomena (Caton) Tomasella-Lyles, grandchildren, Michele (Erec) Vollrath, Angel (Tom) Bussmann, Phil Tomasella, Thesea (Joe Kraus) Tomasella, Morgan Tomasella, Xavier Lyles & Doriana Lyles,  great-grandchildren, Anna (aka Savannah) Tomasella, Lareese Daley, Elijah Daley, T. J. Branigan, Megan Branigan & Averie Tomasella, and, great-great grandson, Kingston McNeil, and many beloved nieces, nephews & friends who will miss his company. His "adopted" son Joe Tomasella will greet him after almost eighteen years of missing him.

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