John Harrington, longtime local English teacher, to be remembered Nov. 27

By Ed Koch, Special to the Sun

Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016 | 2 a.m.

John Harrington often mused that the reason he went into teaching — a career that spanned from the early 1960s through the late 1990s — was so that he'd have summers off to go water skiing.

But his daughter Vicki Carnes knew he had a much more noble reason to spend 37 years molding young minds as an English teacher who primarily taught grammar, literature and creative writing.

“Dad fell into a career for which he had great passion,” Carnes said. “Through his hard work in and out of the classroom, he helped adolescents find their courageous voices for the first time, understanding the power of articulating one’s point of view with clarity and concision. He strived to make students aspire to reach their ultimate potential.”

A celebration of Harrington’s life will be at 4 p.m. on Nov. 27 — one day after what would have been his 88th birthday — at Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 361 Symphony Park Avenue. Harrington died on July 10 of a ruptured aorta, his family said.

Harrington served for more than 20 years as the chairman of the English Department at Clark High School and six years in the same post at The Meadows School, from 1992 until his retirement in 1998.

“John taught my sons at Clark High School, and knowing he was one of the most outstanding English teachers in the state, I pursued him for The Meadows,” said Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman, founder of The Meadows School. “He … was very popular with the students. He was always very effective and his students did very well on the advanced placements tests.”

Harrington, who came to Las Vegas in 1949 at age 21, worked initially as a bank teller, lumber company accountant, Nabisco cookie salesman and night watchman at Palm Mortuary.

He only decided to try teaching after he and his first wife, Adele Florence, daughter of then-Clark County Assessor Frank C. DeVinney, divorced in 1958 after eight years of marriage, and after she moved with their two daughters to Germany. Actually, Harrington decided to become a school teacher so he could have his summers off to spend with his children.

Harrington helped shape the lives of future Las Vegas leaders as a college preparatory English teacher for high school senior class students.

“His intelligence and integrity touched thousands of students including myself,” said Dr. Keith G. Boman, chief medical officer at WellHealth Quality Care in Las Vegas, and a friend of more than 50 years. “He also was an avid outdoorsman who organized countless excursions for students during his tenure teaching.”

Born Nov. 26, 1928, in Charleston, W. Va., Harrington’s family soon after moved to New York and John was raised in Queens, where he graduated from Newtown High School in Jackson Heights and later from New York City College.

In 1961, Harrington graduated from the University of Nevada, having taken classes on both the Las Vegas and Reno campuses, where he earned his teaching credentials. His first teaching job was at what was then the new Twin Lakes Elementary School as a fifth-grade instructor.

Later, while working as a teacher at a Henderson middle school, Harrington was selected to be a charter department head at the then-new Edward W. Clark High School, where he taught rhetoric and literature. From 1970 to 1990, he arranged summer tours for Las Vegas students traveling to Europe and Asia. He also served as the school’s chess club adviser.

At Clark, Harrington also served a term as president of the Clark County Teachers Association.

In his spare time, Harrington was a world traveler (Peru, Iceland, China and South Africa), Boy Scout troop leader, hiker (with the Sierra Club), skier, amateur photographer and movie buff.

Harrington married Eleanor F. Peters in 1966. She had two sons from a previous marriage, who Harrington preferred to call his sons, not his step-sons. Eleanor preceded Harrington in death in 2000. Harrington’s other daughter, Annie Marie McCall, also preceded him in death.

In addition to daughter Vicki Carnes of Las Vegas, Harrington is survived by two sons, Thomas Lamb of Grand Ledge, Mich., and Steven Lamb of Redondo Beach, Calif.; seven grandchildren (Erin, Heather, Hannah, Gretta, Courtney, Brooke and Daniel); and six great-grandchildren.

The family requests donations be made in John D. Harrington’s memory to the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, specifically the Arts Education Program.

Ed Koch is a former longtime Las Vegas Sun reporter.