Edwin “Harry” Harrington
June 24, 1944-Dec. 22, 2020
Edwin “Harry” Harring-ton, 76, Minot, ND,
passed away Tuesday, De-
cember 22, 2020, at Trini-
ty Hospital in Minot.
Edwin George “Harry”
Harrington was born June
24, 1944, the son of Earl
and Lois (Ely) Harrington,
in Oneonta, NY. He was
raised and educated in
Cooperstown, NY, and
graduated from Coopers-
town Central High School
in 1962.
Harry enlisted in the
United States Air Force
on September 9, 1963. As
a Jet Engine Mechanic, he
had been stationed in
France, England and
Grand Forks, ND. It was
during his time in Grand
Forks that he met Mary M.
Schmaltz. Harry and Mary
were united in marriage
on September 14, 1968, in
Devils Lake, ND. They
were blessed with their
son Steve’s birth just be-
fore the family was as-
signed to Anderson AFB
in Guam. In January
1971, Harry and the fami-
ly moved to Griffis AFB,
NY. It was there that they
welcomed their daughter
Sandra. After a deploy-
ment to Thailand, Harry
received orders to Minot
AFB in December 1974.
He proudly served his
country, and after 22
years, he retired on Sep-
tember 30, 1985, in Minot,
as a Master Sergent.
He worked several side
jobs alongside his military
service, more as hobbies
than a necessity. These
included farming and a
small engine repair shop
out of his garage. The
small engine repair work
affectionally became
known as Harry’s Repair
and took on its own life.
As he got older, his chil-
dren could frequently
hear Harry say he wanted
to stop the repair busi-
ness, but he could never
say no and never pass up
the opportunity to help
others.
After his military retire-ment, Harry became em-
ployed at the United
States Post Office. Later,
he became a Bus Driver
for the Minot Commission
on Aging. He truly en-
joyed the patrons, always
welcoming them with a
smile and a story to share.
It was on his routes that
he would find treasures
on the side of the road. As
the saying goes, one man’s
trash is another man’s
treasure. Harry retired
from the Commission on
Aging in 2007.
Throughout his life,
Harry had a passion for
several hobbies. He and
Steve loved the ND out-
doors and enjoyed spend-
ing many hours together
with Air Force buddies
hunting north of the base.
He also became an avid
trapper, catching 25 red
fox in one season. He
never saw a rusty old en-
gine he couldn’t restore.
He enjoyed showing his
hard work by hauling a
trailer load of stationary
engines to various
Threshing Shows. This
passion later led to his in-
volvement with the Mako-
ti and Lansford Threshing
Shows and the Ward
County Pioneer Village.
You could always find
him at his “Barn,” tinker-
ing on his latest project.
He took great joy in his
Children, Grandchildren
and Great-Grandchildren.
You could hear the love
in his voice when he
spoke of them all. Harry’s
Grandsons, Carson and
Ryan, always enjoyed
spending time with their
“Papa.” More recently,
they would enjoy battling
Papa in a game of
cornhole. Papa had a sig-
nificant impact on Carson
and Ryan’s lives and it is
evident in the young men
they have become.
His loving family in-
cludes: wife of 52 years,
Mary, Minot; son, Steve
(Shelley) Harrington, Gar-
land, UT; daughter, San-
dra (Todd) Neiss,
Bismarck, ND; grandchil-
dren, Carson and Ryan
Neiss; Morgan and Spenc-
er Christiansen; Devin
and Kenneth Fox; and
Dalton Yeates; great-
grandchildren, Hayden
and Cohen Fox; Mason
and Sydnee Christiansen;
and Freya Yeates; brother,
Everett (Debra) Harring-
ton, Scio, NY; sisters-
in-law, Angela Harring-
ton, Fly Creek, NY, Sarah
Harrington, Cooperstown,
NY, Fran (Greg) Joramo,
Gold Canyon, AZ, Angela
Olson, Dilworth, MN;
brothers-in-law, Michael
Schmaltz, Twin Valley,
MN, Anthony Schmaltz,
Devils Lake, ND, Peter
(Vicki) Schmaltz, Devils
Lake, ND; and numerous
nieces, nephews, and
cousins.
Harry was preceded in
death by his parents, Earl
and Elaine; brothers, El-
ton and Ellis Harrington;
father-in-law and mother-
in-law, Clem and Shirley
Schmaltz; brothers-in-law,
Steven Olson and Robert
Schmaltz; and sisters-
in-law, Lynda Schmaltz
and Jonnie Schmaltz;
Celebrating the Life of
Harry:
Due to the Coronavirus
Pandemic, A Private Mass
of Christian Burial for
family and invited guests
will be held: Tuesday, De-
cember 29, 2020, at 10:00
a.m. at St. John the Apos-
tle Catholic Church in
Minot, ND. The family
encourages those attend-
ing to wear masks and so-
cial distance.
Private Interment: will
be held on Wednesday,
December 30, 2020, at
2:00 pm at the ND
Veterans Cemetery, Man-
dan, ND.
Visitation: Monday
from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00
p.m. at Thompson-Larson
Funeral Home in Minot.
Memorials: In lieu of
flowers, memorials are
preferred to Makoti
Threshers Association or
the Lansford Thresher-
men and Historical Asso-
ciation.
The service will be
live-streamed for the pub-
lic to view and can be ac-
cessed by going to
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/
channel/UCkw5wBH7W_I
UwKUcuLvhgOw.
Those wishing to sign
the online register and
share memories may ac-
cess the online obituaries
section at (www.
thompsonlarson.com).