Edna Alene Barrier Harrington
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Edna Alene Barrier Harrington passed away on February 18, 2021, just a few days before her 100th birthday.
Edna was born in Spencer, NC, the daughter of Oscar and Mary Stewart Barrier.
She was a graduate of Elon University and worked for the US Government during World War II. She recalled that while going to college during the great depression, she worked for a program instituted by Franklin D. Roosevelt, earning 25 cents/hour which was applied to her Elon tuition. In July of 1943 she married Jesse Weldon Harrington, also an Elon student, after falling in love at a May Pole dance. He entered the Navy after graduating from midshipman's school and they moved to California where Edna's work was related to the Los Alamos, New Mexico Atomic Bomb Research Project.
In 1945, they returned to NC and she began the career she most loved, teaching. She taught at New Hanover High School and UNC-Wilmington. In 1962, the family moved to Burlington, NC where Mr. Harrington became principal of Walter Williams High School and Mrs. Harrington taught school for many years. They retired in 1979 and returned to the coast of Wilmington, a place they both had always loved.
She was a dedicated volunteer and member of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church, enjoyed long walks on the beach with her family, and organizing beach fun for her two beloved grandchildren, Elizabeth and Edward Harrington.
Edna is survived by her sons, Edward Maurice Harrington (Beth) and Louis Weldon Harrington; grandchildren, Elizabeth Harrington Payonk (Phil II), Edward Maurice Harrington Jr. (Euclides); and great-grandchildren, Mary Elizabeth Payonk, Philip McIver Payonk III, and Edward Douglas Payonk, all of Greensboro.
Graveside services will be held at 12:00 p.m. Saturday, February 27, 2021, at Oleander Memorial Gardens with Rev. Duane Partin, of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church, officiating.
The family would like to thank the caregivers and staff at Brightmore Commons and in the last few months, Bradley Creek Healthcare Center and Liberty Hospice.
Share online condolences at www.andrewsmortuary.com