Funeral services for Vera E. Harrington, age 81, of Reilly Springs, are scheduled for 11:00 a.m., Saturday, April 18, 2015, in the chapel of Murray-Orwosky Funeral Home, with Rev. Jim Goodwin, officiating, and assisted by Charles Moore. Visitation will be one hour prior to services at the funeral home. Burial is to follow in the Reilly Springs Cemetery. Pallbearers will be: Larry Burns, Bobby McDonald, John McNeil, Jr., Kerry Bailey, Josh Boatman, and Charles Humphries.
Vera was born on May 3, 1933, in the Gaffords Chapel community of Hopkins County , the daughter of Frank and Gladys Price. She graduated from Sulphur Springs High School in the class of 1951. She married Dreyfus Harrington, on December 20, 1951, in Sulphur Springs, and began a long career in the Hopkins County Dairy Industry.
Vera was named both Hopkins County Citizen of the Year and Woman of the Year in 1986, by the Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce. She was named Agriculturalist of the Year in 1997 and has been a constant supporter and advocate for Hopkins County and agriculture. She’s served on the National Farmer’s Union Committee, National Beef Council, FSA Board, been recognized for her soil conservation efforts, was a member of the 2004 Sulphur Springs Sesquicentennial Committee, Hopkins County 4-H Advisory Council, Reilly Springs Cemetery Board, Board of Regents of the University of Texas at Arlington, and numerous other agricultural organizations, and continued to be an active part in the local agricultural community. She was a founding member of the Hopkins County Democratic Women and continued to be active in local politics, as long as she was able. She retired from the dairy business in 2011.
Vera was a member of Arbala United Methodist Church and has served her church in an active part in Reilly Springs and Shooks Chapel, as well. Always the first to lend a helping hand to those less fortunate, Vera has been a mentor to people everywhere, as she gave of her time, talents, and money to make life a better place.
Her greatest joy in life was the birth of her daughters and granddaughters and she is survived by daughters, Mitzi Harrington and Mary Burns, both of Sulphur Springs, and granddaughters, Elizabeth of Austin, and Caroline and Charlotte of Sulphur Springs, Lauren Burns Rodarte, and grandson, Evan Burns, and great-grandchildren, Maddox, Austin, and Audrey, as well as numerous nieces and nephews, and a host of friends, everywhere.
Vera was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Dreyfus Harrington, in 1980, brothers Bobby, Frankie, and Pizzini Price, and sisters, Odessa Baxter, and Marie Jones.
Vera will long be remembered for her bubbling personality, infectious sense of humor, work with local youth, and as an advocate for anyone who needed help.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Reilly Springs Cemetery Association, 1217 South Broadway, Ste. Q, Sulphur Springs, TX 75482; The Meal-A-Day Center, and Arbala United Methodist Church.
