John Harrington

John Francis “Jack” Harrington Jr., 88, of Amsterdam, NY, passed away Sunday evening, December 11, 2016 at River Ridge Living Center in Amsterdam.

Born in Amsterdam on February 5, 1928, he was the son of the late John Francis Sr. and Mary Breslin Harrington.

Jack received his education at St. Mary’s Institute in Amsterdam, graduating in 1945. He also attended Alfred College in Alfred, NY.

Jack was a United States Army Air Corp veteran serving from 1945 to 1947.

He was employed as a letter carrier for the United States Postal Service in Amsterdam for 39 years, retiring in 1986. He went on to work for the NYS Department of Tax and Finance for 10 years and then as a Courier for Amsterdam Savings Bank until the year 2000.

Jack was a parishioner and communicant of St. Mary’s Church in Amsterdam. He was a founding member of the Irish American Club, past president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division 1 and member of the James T. Bergen Post 39 American Legion. He also bowled in several Amsterdam bowling leagues and was a volunteer for many Bishop Scully fundraising events.He loved to travel, especially to Ireland where he visited five times.

Jack married his soulmate Anne Casey, on June 21, 1952 and sadly he was predeceased by her on January 1, 2012. Jack was also predeceased by his son, Marty on February 1, 2016, his son-in-law, William M. Bernat on January 29, 1997 a great grandson, Zachary Bartman on February 26, 2006 and his sister and brother-in-law Mary and Len Campbell.

Jack is survived by his nine children, Anne Farrell of Amsterdam, Tim (JoAnn) Harrington of Amsterdam, daughter-in-law Valerie Harrington of Hagaman, NY; Maureen Bernat (Angelo Sgarlata) of Guilderland, NY; Nora (Ron) Bartman of Amsterdam, Eileen (Lee) French of Rotterdam, NY; Denis (Caroline) Harrington of Wayzata, MN; Sheila (John) Sawyer of Clifton Park, NY; Kate (Ken) Jensen of Taos, NM, and Brigid Wyszomirski of Las Vegas, NV. Twenty-nine grandchildren, Brian (Nicole) and Patrick (Jessica) Farrell, Cristy (Jeremie) Duma, Catherine (Carlos) Carrera, Elizabeth Bonnano, Brittany (Derek) Carpenter, Kyle (Kristin), Ryan and Matthew Harrington, Morgan and Keegan Bernat, Jeremy (Sheena), Joshua (Debra), Nathan and Caitlin Bartman, Brendan (Ivy), Cory, Brett and Collin French, Devin, Shane, Brennan (Emily) and Sean Harrington, Bailey and Payton Sawyer, Liam, Mary Frances and Jamie Jensen and Natalie Wyszomirski. Nineteen great grandchildren, Katy, Mady, Daniel, Braelyn, Jeremie, Devin, Hailey, Ganiha, Kaimein, Giordan, Chase, Colby, Griffin, Owen, Emmett, Izabella, Lucas, Connor and Evan. He is also survived by one brother, J. Edward (Lina) Harrington of Clifton Park, NY.

Many nieces, nephews and cousins also survive.

The Harrington family would like to thank the entire staff and community of Judson Meadows Assisted Living Facility for the kindness and compassion they showed toward Jack and a special thank you to his two dear friends, Bill and Will. They would also like to thank the staff at River Ridge Living Center for their care and compassion, and also Jack’s friend Al China for his kindness.

Calling hours are Thursday at the Riley Mortuary, Inc., 110 Division Street, Amsterdam, NY from 4:00 to 7:00pm.

Funeral services will be held Friday morning at 10:30 at mortuary, followed at 11:15 by a Mass of Christian Burial, which will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Church, 156 East Main Street, Amsterdam.

Interment will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Fort Johnson, NY.

In Lieu of flowers, memorial gifts in Jack’s name may be made to the Capital Campaign at St. Mary’s Church, 156 East Main Street, Amsterdam, NY, 12010.