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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).