Joseph Francis Harrington

Educator, entrepreneur, author and historian and long-time Stoughton resident, Joe Harrington, died December 3, 2024, after a challenging year. Born in Brookline, Joe received his Bachelor's degree in History, from Boston College (magna cum laude), where he first met his late wife, Brenda Crowley Harrington. He joined the U.S. Army and served as a Captain. He received his Master's degree in Education from Georgetown University in 1963 and his Ph.D with distinction from Georgetown in 1971. Joe and Brenda moved to Stoughton to build their family in 1968. 

He began a 37-year career as Framingham State College history professor. During that time, he served as Chairman of the History Department and was the 2003 Recipient of the prestigious Kidger Award. The award, given by the New England History Teachers' Association to a college/university professor in the greater New England Area, in recognition of their contribution to the profession, read: "Professor, Scholar, Author, Diplomatic Historian, Leader in Academic Enrichment Programs, Advocate Encouraging Historical Research and Writing among Youth, Editor, The New England Journal of History." 

He was an active member of the Stoughton community, serving on the Stoughton School Committee for a total of 14 years. He was a charter member of Parents for Performing Students, which supported the award-winning music and drama programs at Stoughton High School, and taught CCD at St. James and at Our Lady of the Rosary churches. Along with Brenda, he founded and developed a CYO program for the young people of St. James Church. 

In 1979, Joe and Brenda founded College Academy and College Gate, which soon became one of the largest summer academic enrichment programs in the United States for children in grades K-8. For more than 45 years, those programs have addressed the intellectual needs of over 35,000 students from across the country and numerous foreign lands. The program continues to be run by his son, Christopher and Chris' wife, Lisa. 

Joe served on countless boards, including as President of the Society for Romanian Studies, the Kennedy Library Academic Council, the Romanian American Academy of Arts and Sciences, President of the Massachusetts Association for Gifted Education and on the Board of Governors for the National Association for Creative Children and Adults. 

Joe, or "Doc" as many called him, wrote nearly 100 scholarly articles and more than ten books, among them, "Tweaking the Nose of the Russians: Fifty Years of American-Romanian Relations, 1940-1990", co-author with Bruce Courtney; "Conflicted Giant, American Foreign Policy, 1945-2012", "citty upon a hill", volumes one and two; and most recently, "From Truman to Obama, focusing on the relationships between U.S. Presidents and their Secretaries of State". 

In 2020, Joe moved to Arlington, VA to live with his daughter and her family. He continued writing, was active with Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic church and enjoyed playing bridge, both with a local group and online with his friends from Puritan Bridge in Braintree, MA. 

Joe was predeceased by his beloved wife, Brenda Crowley Harrington in 2004. He is survived by his daughter, Megan H. Booth, her husband Justin and their three children, Mikayla, Isabelle and Sam; and his son, Christopher Harrington, his wife Lisa, and their son, Tyler. 

A Memorial Mass and will be celebrated at St. James Church, 560 Page Street, Stoughton on Saturday, March 29, 2025 at 10:30 AM. In lieu of flowers, donations in Joe’s memory may be made to The American Diabetes Association at https://diabetes.org/.