Kevin B. Harrington

To the Harrington Family: I had the pleasure of knowing Kevin for more than 30 years. His many visits to the Parker House brightened our days. He was full of wisdom and class. He will be sorely missed.

Dear Kathy;
I'm so sorry to hear about Kevin's passing. I was lucky enough to work for him at the state house the summer of 77 and have many fond memories of all the family reunions at your beautiful home. I tell my son Timothy that he got his height from the Harrington side of the family (he's 6'4"). You and all your family are in my thoughts and prayers. God Bless.

Neal
My Heart go's out to you in this time of sorrow, I have said a prayer for your Dad.

Dear Ann,
I am very sorry for your loss. I wish you and your entire family, my deepest sympathy, as you survive such a difficult time.
Sincerely,
Cliff Ansara

TO Neal, Kevin and Family:Our thoughts and prayer's with you today. The senator was a wonderful person to everyone he came in contact with. he shared his life with everyone he knew. We would share times talking when I would run into the senator down by pickering wharf on occation. God Bless you and your Family; Larry Blasi and Family

Dear Kathy,

I am so sorry to hear about the passing of Kevin. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
I always enjoyed our chats when I would come to your house to work. He will truly be missed.
With Sympathy

To the Harrington Family:
We were saddened to hear of your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
The Soboczinski Family

Thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. from another New England Harrington Family descendant.

To the Harrington Family- my prayers are with you. Beth Tobin

Dear Aunt Kathy, Ann, Moe, Joan, Kevin and Neil. I was so sadden to hear about Uncle Kevin on Thanksgiving Day.

Uncle Kevin meant so much to all of us. I will always remember the summer days over at your house swimming, playing basketball and ping pong.
Uncle Kevin was in deed a man of great stature and courage. The courage was very clear when he would hold the Harrington family reunions at his home during the summer and to continue to invite the Suslak family over year after year was amazing. We all would have such a great time., of course Kentucky Fried Chicken would have to closed down afterwards, but the kids had a barrel. The adults loved getting together and catching up with one another. You could see the pride that Uncle Kevin had when it came to family, immediate as well as extended clan.
It was at your house that I learned how to swim over my head. At one of the family reunions all of the cousins started to swim out to the island. Well I couldn't operate the boat and I certainly wasn't going to be left alone on the shore. I slowly slipped into the water and began my trek out to the island. I had totally forgotten that my Mother was up on the lawn going nuts. She knew that I had never swam over my head like that before. When I finally reached the island, I swear it was going out with the tide, I turned to look back to see just how far I had swam. There. up at the house was Mother and Uncle Kevin. Uncle Kevin had one arm around my Mom's should and the other arm up in the air with his big cigar and an even bigger thumbs up for me. He told my Mother " don't worry Marg, she can do it"

I know we all have some special memories of Uncle Kevin that we will always cherish.

So Uncle Kevin, thank you for my special memories.
Good night and sweet dreams
All my love always, your niece Bethy

My thoughts and prayers are with you in your time of need. May God bless you all.

To the Harrington Family, I am so sorry to hear about the death of Kevin. I remember him fondly and have appreciated for thirty years the opportunity he gave me as a page in the Massachusetts State Senate. I learned a tremendous amount from that experience and from watching him preside as Senate President. He, as well well as his entire family, are in my thoughts and prayers. May he rest in peace.

I would like to express my deepest condolences to the entire Harrington family. What a blessing to have had Mr. Harrington in our lives. With such a wonderful family, there is no doubt he is an old soul. I was privlidged as a chef to have Kevin dine at every restaurant I ever ran. For such a busy man to make time to support my passion was an honor for me. God bless and Peace.

To the Harrington Family: I had the pleasure of meeting Kevin while working in the Senate Counsel's office with Margaret Suslak. One particular quality I noticed in Kevin was that he treated everyone the same. Title didn't matter to him. Honesty, integrity and loyalty did. What a great legacy to leave! I am sorry for your loss.

We were so sorry to hear of the passing of Kevin, our thooughts and prayers are with the entire Harrington Family.
From Merrimack, NH and Naples, FL

May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.

To The Harrington Family,
I was so sorry to hear of your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you. I hope that one day fond memories will help to quell your sadness and reflection will bring comfort.
With deepest sympathy,

To the entire Harrington family: You have my sincerest sympathy in the passing of a man of great stature who has left an indelible mark on every person he touched. Kevin and I were close friends through eight years at St. Mary's grammar school and the first year at St. Mary's in Lynn.
We were also teammates on the Immaculate Conception basketball team in the CYO league. I am able to write this memory today because of Kevin's courage in a very dangerous situation. We used to wait for the ice truck to come by so we could get some of the ice chips on the wagon and I, being the lightest, was almost always boosted onto the truck to move the chips to the back. On one occasion as I was jumping off the truck my foot got caught in the hook holding up the tail gate and the truck started to move. Kevin grabbed me by the shoulders and held me up so my head would not hit the pavement. He had to run several blocks holding me before the truck stopped for its next delivery. Without this courageous act I am sure that at the very least I would have incurred severe head injuries!
I was one of the smallest kids in school and when friends and relatives would see us walking together they would call us "Mutt and Jeff" or say "There goes the long and short of it".
What beautiful memories I have of our friendship. I will miss him greatly.

Kathy, Neil, Kevin, Ann, Maureen, Joan
Your family and the city of Salem lost a great man last week. Having grown up with his children I always saw a good man caring for his family, friends and the community he served. Just look at all the changes he put through at Salem State making it and any school program he touched the best there is.
Know your loss is hard especially at this time of year but the many family friends that you all have will be there for you and help you through this loss. my prayers to you all.

To the Harrington Family,
Another piece of my childhood has turned to a memory to treasure. I was just a little girl on Aborn Street in Peabody when my dad, Clem Feeney, worked for Irving Taxi at night. I remember Sen. Harrington from those days and when my dad worked tirelessly to help him to be elected. My father was very proud to be a part of the Harrington team ... he was not a "pol" himself, but enjoyed participating from the sidelines. I know dad will be proud to share a seat in heaven with Kevin. My prayers are with you all.
Linda Mahoney, Woburn, MA

Maureen, Ann and Family
My prayers are with you and your loved ones. May your sadness soon be replaced with some happy memories. I am thinking of you all.

TO THE HARRINGTON FAMILY

PLEASE BE ASSURED PAT AND I WILL KEEP KEVIN AND YOUR FAMILY IN OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS.AS A FORMER MEMBER OF THE HOUSE DURING KEVIN'S YEARS AS SENATE PRESIDENT I GOT TO KNOW HIM PERSONALLY THROUGH OUR MUTUAL FRIEND THE LATE SENATOR ROBERT L. CAWLEY.I AM SURE BOB WAS THERE TO GREET KEVIN IN HEAVEN.OUR PRAYERS ARE WITH BOTH OF THEM

To the entire Harrington family. Please accept our sincere condolences. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

David Fladger and family.

Dear Mrs. Harrington, Neil, Kevin, Ann, Maureen and Joan; When the Billings' lost their patriarch, we heard a lot about legacy and the ability one has to influence the lives of others. Subsequently, as the influential characters of my own life pass, I beckon back to how many stories I heard from people during my grieving, people I did not know, as to how my father had affected their lives. There is no doubt in my mind that literally hundreds of men on the north shore now mourn "Coach" Harrington: many you might not know nor ever will. We remember 'Duchy' Hart, 'Jack' Nestor and Kevin and their hundreds of countless hours coaching. Though not immediately evident, it did become clearer that none of them was as vested in coaching basketball as they were in coaching young men about life. Sports was a mere metaphor. Having come from a large family and knowing well the limits of my father's personal budget, I knew how extraordinary it was when I received a brand new b'ball shirt from Mr. Harrington or when Kevin, purely by coincident, had bought a new pair of sneakers for Neil or Kevin that did not fit them but seemed to fit me just fine. Sure, one can imagine the accolades that will unfold about Mr. Harrington's political influence, but for the remainder of my life, it will be his influence upon young men in the City of Salem and how so very, very, very many of them now serve politically, educate or coach in dedication to him. Know you are in my heartfelt prayers.

Kevin and family, please accept the condolences of the Doty family of Connecticut. Our prayers are with you.

Dear Ann and Maureen,
My hearfelt sympathy to you and your family. I am so sorry for your loss. I remember seeing your Dad at Naz and marveling at his stature. Until I read the wonderful piece in the Boston Globe today, I did not realize at the time, that I had much more than his physical stature to admire! I hope that knowing others are thinking of you at this time is a comfort to you.

Our condolences to the entire Harrington family. As a graduate of SSC, a retired educator, and former Salem School Committee member, I appreciated all that Kevin did for education and the city of Salem.
My wife and I also appreciated how kind Kevin was to members of my wife's (Barbara Richardson Robinson) family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire family.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you in your time of grief. May your memories bring you comfort.

Dear Aunt Kathy, Neil, Kevin, Ann, Maureen and Joan and families,
My first memory of Uncle Kevin must be from about grade 2. I remember sitting in my red rocking chair when he was back for a vacation from St Louis University. He asked me about a book I was reading and made me pause and go back and start from the beginning every time I said "uh". That, elocution lessons from Nana and a "speech consult" from Uncle Joe, no doubt had a part to play in the over 1,600 lectures I have given around the world.
I remember the rides with him when I was babysitting for Neil and Kevin-lots of discussions about the world and his philosophy of life. Then there were the family Thanksgiving dinners, weddings and other events where he set the standard for how things "should be done".
I remember being an adult visiting Mother and he called, recognized my voice, and gave me an order to do something. I wasn't used to taking orders at that point in my life, but I smiled to myself and said, "of course Uncle Kevin".
The important roles he served as a brother, brother-in-law, uncle and mentor- the things he did that were recognized, the things that he did that were done quietly, endeared him to all of us. We were all blessed to have had him in our lives. He will be greatly missed.
Love,
Mary Lou and Bruce

My heartfelt condolences to the entire Harrington family. Kevin was the epitome of what a friend could be. Although I hadn't seen him in several years my memories of Kev and his help to get me started at Saltz Chevrolet will never be forgotten.
When the "old guys" played ball together every Sunday Kevin even let me get a rebound or two.
He also helped a friend of mine; a talented but poor young man become a doctor by pointing him in the proper direction.
Kevin was, above all, a gentleman. I will miss him.

Sincerest condolences to the Harrington family upon the passing of our former Senate President. He will be remembered as a person who made significant contributions to the Salem community and the cause of improved public education in Massachusetts.

Hon. Robert Cornetta
Presiding Justice
Salem District Court

Mrs. Harrington, Joan, and the rest of the Harrington Family, please accept my heartfelt condelences on Mr. Harrington's passing. I admired this honest and forth-right gentlemen for his dedication to his family, friends, public service, and educational initiatives. It was a pleasure meeting and working with him while at Bishop Fenwick High School. God Bless Mr. Harrington and his family. Peace.

Kevin Harrington was more than a giant physically and intellectually. He was a legislative leader at the national level as the founding President of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)which has become the forum for America's ideas giving voice to state legislators in dealing with the federal government. Kevin's vision was unique in many ways in Massachusetts, but also for state legislators throughout the nation. He not only made a difference in the Commonwealth, but in the country. I was honored by his friendship and wise counsel during my years in the Massachusetts Legislature and in my more recent role as Vice President of NCSL.

My deepest sympathy to the entire Harrington Family. Maeve, your grandfather was a great man. My father admired him very much. You have my prayers, and those of my family.

Sincerely,

Keri Cahill & Family

Condolences from the family of the late Franna Burke who served on Senate President Harrington's staff.

Gerald F. Burke, Major
MA State Police (Ret.)
(formerly, Dep. Supt. MDC)

Dear Mrs. Harrington and family, please accept my heartfelt sympathy for the resent loss of a great humanitarian, personal friend and life coach! Your husband was a pillar of strength, inspiration and gentleman to those of us who new him well. Without his encouragement, support and drive I would never have had the opportunity to grow from Rainbow Terrace basket ball kid to college graduate. He understood that sometimes poor kids need a break, but he also instilled a need to be accountable for one's actions. I feel so sad about your family's great lost, but know that the Lord will reward him for his great humanitarian side as well as his public service to others.

In our prayers,

I would like to extend my deepest sympathy for your loss. I will always remember playing basketball in the old Saltonstall gym on Saturday afternoons with Kevin and all the other over-the-hill gang. None of us were able to overcome his 6'9'' which seemed more like 8' to most of us.
As a teacher I will always be greatful for what he did for Mass education. The teaching profession improved greatly under his leadership from the State House.
Bill Cullen

We have lost a caring and gentle man.Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this time of sorrow

I will miss a dear and cherished friend. With deepest sympathy.
Stan Bornstein

Dear Mrs. Harrington and family,
I am terribly sorry for your family's loss. My father and your husband have been friends for years, as well as colleagues from their days in the senate. I know this is not an easy time because we are going through the same thing. We had no idea that he was in the same hallway at the Kaplan House......how ironic! It is comforting to know what a great and full life he led, that he got the absolute best of care, and is now in peace. Once again, my family will keep you all in our thoughts and prayers.
Sincerely,
Maria Boverini

I wish to extend my deepest sympathy over the passing of Mr. Harrington. In addition to being a great public servant, he was a great friend to my folks and words cannot describe how this loss will be felt by them. His legacy for his public achievements are too numerous to list but his most important accomplishment is his success as a husband, father, and grandfather. His life should be remembered as a lesson to all of us to how the actions of one person can have a broad impact on many others and the Harrington family should always take great pride in what he accomplished.