Obituary of Paul D. Harrington

Paul Dillon Harrington of Somers, NY passed away peacefully on February 22 at the age of 90 surrounded by family.  He fought a long battle with kidney disease but enjoyed a wonderful life up until the very end. He was born in Brookline, MA on May 15, 1928 to the late William E. Harrington, Sr. and Alice O’ Laughlin Harrington. At age 2, the family moved to New Rochelle, NY where Paul was raised.

He graduated from New Rochelle High School, went on to serve in the US Naval Reserve from January 1944 through October 1953.  He graduated from the Phoenix School of Design in  NYC  on June 3, 1949.  In 1950 he married his first sweetheart, Suzanne Bermingham, with whom he raised five children. She passed away in 1985. Paul was a successful entrepreneur and a talented artist who was able to build a long and successful career in the field of commercial art. He worked for several companies, eventually retiring as a director and co-owner of his own company, Harrington and Cossio. Both during his career and in his retirement, he produced many beautiful watercolors, oils and sketches. His work includes paintings of New England, the Hudson River, Nantucket, Bermuda, California, France, China, Spain and Africa. His work has been collected by clients coast to coast and internationally and includes two originals in the permanent collection of Readers Digest.

Paul was a devout and involved Catholic serving in several parishes in Westchester, NY during his lifetime. One of his most significant accomplishments was being ordained into the first class of Permanent Deacons in the Archdiocese of NY in 1973 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. He served for over 15 years in this capacity.

Born with a sense of adventure and inquisitiveness, Paul loved to travel the world and visit new places usually coming home with material for his next work of art. His creativity was not limited to painting. Paul dabbled in sculpture, in poetry and in storytelling. In his late eighties, he enrolled in creative writing classes. It was just under three years ago that he wrote, illustrated and published a beautiful children’s book, Clarence the Cloud.

Paul is survived by the second love of his life, his beloved wife of nearly 30 years, Mary Anne Haskin-Harrington and his children Kitty Marra (Robert) of Tolland, CT, Andrew Harrington (Annette) of White Plains, NY, Steven Harrington (Stephanie) of Suwanee, GA, Jamie Harrington (Lisa) of New Fairfield, CT, his daughter-in-law, Lucille Harrington of Atlanta, GA and his sister, Sally Beers of Rye, NY. Surviving also are 13  grandchildren ;  Kevin, Brendan and Rob Marra, Roselynn Marra, Sharon Arduino, Paul D. Harrington III, Stacie Oden, Kaitlyn Krause, Nicole Hummell, Diana Faircloth, Suzanne Harrington,  Dylan and Taylor Harrington as well as soon to be 13 great-grandchildren.

 Surviving  family also includes his in-laws Joyce Bermingham of VA, Dayton Haskin (Margaret) of MA, David Haskin (Caroline) of CA, and dozens of nieces and nephews.

Paul was predeceased by his first wife Suzanne and his son, Paul D Harrington, Jr. as well as his siblings, William Harrington, Jr. and Joan Doyle.

The family will receive friends at Clark Associates Funeral Home, 4 Woods Bridge Rd., Katonah on Thursday February 28 from 4 to 7 pm. A Mass of Christian burial will be held at St. Joseph’s Church, 95 Plum Brook Rd., Somers, on Friday March 1 at 10 am. Burial will follow at Holy Mount Cemetery in Eastchester.

In lieu of flowers a memorial donation may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society