Ann 'Nancy' Harrington
Ann "Nancy" Goodell Robison was born to Ann VanWagenen Robison and Henry Edwin Robison in Washington, D.C. She spent her childhood in Palo Alto, Calif., and graduated from Palo Alto High School. In 1967, she graduated from Smith College in Massachusetts with a bachelor's degree in history.
In their adventurous spirit, they settled in the Bitterroot Valley in 1971, where they raised sheep, beginning with a few ewes and ending up with hundreds. Later, Nancy and Hank moved to the Rattlesnake Valley in Missoula, where they lived for 25 years. Nancy became a CPA and received her MBA from the University of Montana. At the time of her death, she was a partner in the accounting firm of Boyle, Deveny & Meyer, where her 21-year practice emphasized tax preparation for individuals and businesses, nonprofit services and trust and estate compliance.
Nancy was the accountant for several Missoula nonprofits. She served on the board of directors of Intermountain Planned Parenthood, the Missoula Food Bank and Child Care Resources. She was active in a variety of community organizations, including the Poverello Center, Holy Spirit Episcopal Church (where she sang in the choir) and Sussex School. Her community involvement connected her with the people she loved.
Nancy was passionate about motorcycle riding. Though it was originally Hank's avocation, she adopted motorcycling as her own. With friends and Hank, Nancy rode throughout the world, including a 7,000-mile trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, and back to meet their family for Christmas.
Our mom was dedicated and had genuine concern for her friends and family. She listened, cared, and remembered details of people's lives. She knew the names and histories of all of our friends, even after they moved thousands of miles away. She loved family, and she would have gone anywhere just so all of us could be together. She was the best source of unconditional love that a daughter or friend could hope for.
Henry 'Hank' Harrington
Henry "Hank" Harrington was born to Elizabeth Bowerfind and Randolph Harrington in Evanston, Ill., where he grew up with his father and brother. Hank earned a bachelor's degree in English from Williams College, and then went on to earn a Ph.D. with particular interest in James Joyce and Victorian literature from Stanford University.
While studying at Stanford, he met Nancy. During their courtship, they often rode Hank's motorcycle and on one of these trips he proposed and was accepted. Following their marriage in 1968, they moved to Montana, where Hank took a position as an assistant English professor at the University of Montana. They settled in an unheated cabin up the Burnt Fork, south of Hamilton, where they lived for free in exchange for moving irrigation pipe.
Hank had a rewarding career in the English Department, chairing the department from 1987-92. He gradually transferred to the Environmental Studies Department, where he taught popular courses in environmental literature. With Environmental Studies Department Chair Tom Roy, he founded the Environmental Writing Institute, one of the first of its kind nationwide to focus on nature and environmental writing.
Hank retired from academics to become a woodworker. With the help of friends and mentors, he built his skills and his vast collection of tools. He started constructing thoughtful and creative furniture and progressed to a four-year project building Anna Livia, a 24-foot wooden catboat. At the time of his death, he was in the process of completing the crown jewel of his second career, finishing the interior woodwork of a craftsman-style home in central Missoula. Hank and Nancy had intended to move into that home next spring.
Motorcycling was another of Hank's passions. It began in the California foothills, suffered a responsible hiatus for rearing young children, then resumed with renewed vigor when Nancy joined him in his motorcycle mania. He rode through Oman, Morocco, South Africa, Mexico and Canada, as well as many trips within the United States.
Our dad was a true Renaissance man - intelligent, adventurous, loving, infuriating and passionate. He always had a corner of his mind and a part of his body dedicated to some project or pursuit. He had tremendous dedication to the task at hand and could work with amazing intensity. He gave generously of his time and energy to Sussex School, the Natural History Center and numerous other organizations.
Our dad tackled any subject, be it music, art history or boat building, and he was unfailing in his encouragement and enthusiasm for his friends' varied and sometimes off-the-wall pursuits as well. He loved to discuss any subject in great depth. When he didn't know the subject, he would come up with a convincing statement anyway. We called these "Hank's factoids."
(Any grammar, spelling or clarity errors herein are due to the loss of our best editor!)
Our parents shared a lifetime exploring one another's interests and changing together. Our dad would have advised any family and friends who are grieving his loss to "buck up," and our mom would want everyone to give each other hugs. They died together near the cabin they had built together, where we spent many wonderful summers.
Nancy and Hank are survived by us, their daughters, Sarah H. Schram and Emily W. Harrington; their dogs, Roo and Pilot; as well as a strong community of family and friends. Nancy is also survived by her sister, Margaret McCarty; and brother, Thornton Robison, and her father.
We invite their friends to attend a memorial service at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, at Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, 130 S. Sixth St. E. in Missoula. A memorial fund has been established in their name at Sussex School, 1800 S. Second St. W., Missoula, MT 59801.
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