Mary G. (Cardinal) Harrington

Mary G. (Cardinal) Harrington of Stoneham passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 19, 2022.  She is 88 years of age.

Born on Saturday, January 6, 1934 in Medford, Mary is the loving daughter of the late Jerry Cardinal and Mary (Evans) Cardinal.  Mary is a warm, kind and gentle daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt and friend who will be truly missed.

Mary grew up in Medford, MA and graduated from Medford High School.  Mary’s life revolved around 3 areas, her dedicated faith, the love for her family and friends, and her talents with a thread and needle.   

Mary married Bill Harrington on April 19, 1954.  She became a mother to Kathy, Carol, David and Gerry and moved to Stoneham in 1966.

Mary graduated from Malden School of Nursing in 1968 completed her Baccalaureate in nursing at Salem state all while working at Malden Hospital followed by Carney Hospital and finally the Whidden where she retired after a couple of years so she could enjoy travelling with Bill.

Mary and Bill split their time between Naples, Florida, and Stoneham; while travelling the world and enjoying many Superbowl trips.   Her family was growing with all their children married and giving them 9 grandchildren all living close by.   Mary was a doting grandmother and loved to spend time with her grandchildren.  If asked, she always had her brag book containing grandkid pictures with her.  As much as she loved being called mom, she cherished being called Beta more, a name given to her by her grandchildren.

She was active  and volunteered in the parishes of St Patrick’s while in Stoneham and St Peter the Apostle in Naples. It was  during this time that Mary began to learn how to quilt.  Once she ventured into world of quilting with its colorful fabrics, patterns and friends she excelled.   She would love to shop for fabric, with a keen eye for deals, no plans to make anything special, just to buy the pretty fabric to have for a “future” project, which ended up taking over 3 rooms of the house.   Mary loved to go on overnight quilting trips/excursions. She entered her quilts in  shows and won quite a few awards.     Between all her trips  and shopping excursions she even managed to make quilts for all her grandchildren , which they still cherish today. 

Through all these busy times Mary never forgot her faith. She prayed the rosary every evening, attended Mass every day.  Her faith and the comfort she received from God became even stronger when she lost her beloved son Dave and her husband Bill.  After Bill’s death, her independence grew stronger and   she continued travelling between Naples and Stoneham but always being home for Thanksgiving and Christmas to be with her family especially the grandkids.   Though never shying away from telling her kids back home how cold it was in Naples at 65 degrees while it was snowing up north.

Travelling to Naples became too much for Mary in 2018.   Around this time her grandson Gerard and his wife Val moved in downstairs and blessed her with her with her great grand dog Sully.  She and Sully became inseparable, and Sully would always keep an eye of her and he always found the food Mary dropped by mistake on purpose.   They were the of best friends.    Due to COVID, Val and Gerard ‘s wedding ceremony was held in August 2021 and that would be Mary’s last big party.  She had a wonderful time dancing with all her sons and grandsons, and she had a blast in the photo booth.   

Mary was blessed to remain at home in her final years  until she was admitted to hospice at the Sawtelle Hospice House in Reading where she received excellent care.

Mary, Mom, Beta you will be missed and you are loved dearly by your children, grandchildren, great grandchild, great grand dogs, nieces, nephews, friends and neighbors. 

Mary is the beloved wife of the late William Harrington.  She is the devoted mother of Kathy Reardon and her husband Charlie, Carol Neal and her husband Lou, Gerry Harrington and his wife Marjorie and the late David Harrington and his surviving wife Sarah Torrice.  The cherished grandmother of Sean Patrick Reardon and his wife Tarah, Gerard Harrington and his wife Valerie, Joseph Neal, Jillian Harrington and her fiancé Nick Palermo, Liam Harrington, Stephen Neal, Patrick Harrington, Jonathan Neal and the late Christopher Neal, Mary is the doting great grandmother of Everleigh Neal.  She is the dear sister of the late Ellen Amaral and her surviving husband Dr. Edward Amaral.  Mary is also lovingly survived by her great grand dog Sully and many nieces and nephews.

Funeral from the Barile Family Funeral Home, 482 Main Street, (RT 28) STONEHAM on Monday, June 27^th at 9am followed by a Funeral Mass Celebrating Mary’s Eternal Life in Saint Patrick Church, 71 Central Street Stoneham at 10am.  Family and friends are cordially invited to gather and share memories with Mary’s Family on Sunday, June 26^th from 2-5pm in the Funeral Home.  Parking attendants and elevator are available.  Interment Lindenwood Cemetery, Stoneham.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations in Mary’s memory to the Sawtelle Family Hospice House c/o Beth Israel Lahey Health Department of Philanthropy, 41 Mall Rd. Burlington, MA 01805 or by referring to https://secure3.convio.net/bidmc/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app30101b?idb=1370448425&df_id=6184&mfc_pref=T&6184.donation=form1&NONCE_TOKEN=2220BCECFD4AA1A50FBEBCE93488912D, St. Patrick Parish, 71 Central Street, Stoneham, Massachusetts 02180 or by referring to https://www.paypal.com/donate/?token=gIFmOdteGzBxREZzHnpdSFldL7qbGkFWbUYp6O7esns5vJFHNIU4LMp6SyxASIbsdHjnztX_3cfYgSdf&locale.x=US or to Boston Children’s Hospital Outpatient Diabetes Program c/o Boston Children’s Hospital Trust, 401 Park Drive, Suite 602, Boston, Massachusetts 02215 or by referring to https://secure.childrenshospital.org/site/Donation2?df_id=5806&mfc_pref=T&5806.donation=form1&s_src=GIVENOWHDR&s_subsrc=wtgNav

For more information, www.facebook.com/BarileFamilyFuneralHome