The following obituary was posted on June 25, 2000:
John Timothy (Tim) Harrington, MD was born on July 6, 1940 to John T. and Marcia McKenna Harrington in Madison, Wisconsin and died at Agrace Hospice on June 23, 2020. Tim was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on May 21, 2020 and opted to spend his remaining time at Agrace, in the company and comfort of dear friends and family. He grew up in Madison within his parents’ extended families, and was educated and mentored at West High (1958), the University of Wisconsin (1962), and the UW School of Medicine (1965).
Tim left Madison for post-graduate training in internal medicine, immunology, and rheumatology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, the National Institutes of Health, and the University of Texas Southern Medical School in Dallas before joining the faculty at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.
Tim returned to Madison in 1976 to practice rheumatology, and also held a Professorship of Medicine at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health before retiring in 2012. Throughout his career, he was committed to improving patient care in his own practice and nationally. He consulted with many health systems and practices, co-authored two books based on his experiences, and received the Paulding Phelps (1993), Masters (2005), and Distinguished Clinician Scholar (2019) Awards from the American College of Rheumatology for his work. He enjoyed tennis, golf, music, cooking, travel, reading and UW sports with many friends and his family.
Tim is survived by two sisters and their spouses, Marcy Burth (Ron) and Eileen Harrington (Nadya Aswad), three children, their spouses, and six grandchildren: Mark (Jill), Ursula and Amelia; Jennifer Tomes (John), Alex and Katherine; and Christopher (Laura), Jack and Madeleine.
He felt a deep gratitude to this family and the Madison community for a wonderful life. He asked that memorials in his name be made to Agrace Hospice, the Madison Community Foundation, and/or the University of Wisconsin Foundation. Tim and his family extend deepest thanks to the wonderful staff at Agrace.
Due to risks associated with COVID 19, there will be no gathering or service for Tim. He was a physician and strongly believed, until his last days, that we need to stay home, socially distance, wear masks, and avoid gatherings.
Madison West High School Class of 1958 