Obituary of Donald P Harrington

Donald P. Harrington, age 79, residing at Harbour Ridge, in Palm City, Florida most recently departed from sheer exhaustion on June 12, 2016, with his wife at his side. On a cold November 8, 1936 day in The Bronx, NY, Gladys and Charlie Harrington welcomed their first child, a 12 pound boy named Donald Paul. He was the older brother to Gladys Landry. He married his high school sweetheart Ann (Pieret) Harrington on June 3, 1961, in The Bronx at Holy Family R.C Church and they had a son named Donald Gerard. As a small 12 year old boy, Don entered All Hallows High School in The Bronx. During his four years, Don excelled academically and graduated with high honors while playing on the varsity basketball team where he was a member of an All New York City basketball team and was an active member on numerous academic clubs and social committees. He then continued his formal education with accepting an offer from Iona College, where he focused on chemistry and mathematics, as opposed to taking an offer from Notre Dame, because as he said, he did not want to be educated away from family, friends, and loved ones. Upon graduating college, he worked at New York Life Insurance company and began taking actuarial exams, which culminated with reaching the highest level the profession as a Fellow in The Society of Actuaries. While working and starting a family, Don served in The United States Army as an Officer. Starting in 1964, he began working at AT&T where for the next 37 years he rose the corporate ladder to become AT&T's Chief Actuary and later Senior Officer of AT&T's Global Human Resources and Compensation. During his successful career he worked on a number of company committees and outside organizations such The Washington, DC based employee benefit think tank named The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), where he served as their President for three years. Donald also was recognized by Iona College for his high performance and achievement in US business when he was welcomed into Iona's Hall of Fame. Donald is survived by his wife whom he was married to for over 55 years and dated her for 10 years prior, his son Donald Gerard, his daughter-in-law Christine, four grandchildren, Ryan Gerard (age 19), Katherine Ann (age 15), Brendan Patrick (age 14) and Peyton Margret (age 7), his sister Gladys Landry, and four nephews and one niece, Keith Landry, Dawn Marie Van Hof, Robert Cousin, Kevin Landry, and Joseph Pieret. Don's life will be celebrated at Gallaway and Crane Funeral Home, 101 S. Finely Ave, Basking Ridge, NJ on Friday, June 17, 2016 from 2 – 4 pm and 6 – 8 pm. Funeral Mass will be at St. James Roman Catholic Church, 184 S. Finley Ave, Basking Ridge on Saturday, June 18, 2016, 10:00 am. Interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery, Basking Ridge. In closing, a quote by George Bernard Shaw sums of the wonderful beautiful life of Donald P. Harrington Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself He was not one to sit and look around – he walked, asked questions, and created a life few will ever forget and most will remained in amazement of!