In Memory of William J. Harrington, Jr., M.D.

Please see below for personal reflection on the life of William J. Harrington, Jr. by Mark Goodman, M.D., Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the memorial tribute in his honor, April 17, 2009.

For news article of his memorial service, click here.

“ Many today  spoke eloquently of Bill’s accomplishments.   I now wish to merely reflect on the person I knew.

Lisa Cabral his nurse and colleague for many years asked me over the phone shortly after his death, so what do you think made him special? In truth there was a long pregnant pause. It was not easy on the fly to explain the mystery, to sum up concisely the uniqueness of a life taken so abruptly.  At first I started to mutter, all that I said seemed trivial, mundane and ordinary, like all the over the top funeral epitaphs that are uttered for one and all. It was only with some reflection that I could express what I have known about Bill for nearly 20 years

I have always felt that the greatest tragedies that can befall a man is for those whom knew him best to have to exaggerate what he was in order to render a portrait of dignity.   

Bill was an honest and frank man, a patriot of simple pleasures, a man of great humor and one whom found little mercy for the failings of those in high places. I will therefore grant him no mercy today. I will honor his memory by telling the truth.

 Bill did not follow the normal paradigm of success .He was the architect of a multi-million dollar research empire  but it was built on as much as mischief,  late night beer drinking, cigar smoking in the Amazon, constant ignoring of  date lines, bickering amongst staff, and a blatant disregard  for organization than any obvious sign of entrepreneurship. Bill had all the tendencies that should have led to failure, homelessness and despair.  Yet, this story has a very different ending. Bills life is one of enormous success that reaches over many continents and bridged many lives together. His life epitomized success, in a personal way, professional and a human way.

Bill‘s life was special because it was redeeming not only for him and for those whom became part of it.  Bill did not embrace life with some grand mission. He did not set out to fix the world ills, never reflected on the supposed nuisances of mentorship, never had a car without a chicken bone in the back seat and never let a day go by with a kind word about Portuguese cab drivers .    

Bill success was an accident, a byproduct of adventurism, nurtured by a good intellect and a deep love for the ordinariness of mankind. Bill chose catfish with his JMH “peeps” over Joe's  Stone crabs. He collected jerk pork and promises for goats over RVUs. He chose to take care of the HIV transsexual crack addicts rather than wealthy donors from West Palm Beach.  He choose to drive to Mississippi to help Katrina victims in the 100,000 mile+ Tommy van  rather than by private chartered jet not so much out of principal but out of opportunity to eat barbecue and see folk on the road.  He went to Crawford Texas to protest President Bush not so much because he embraced Cindy Sheehan but because he felt our President was frivolous with the lives of ordinary people in this country.

Bill chose a life in service for those with viral malignancies not because of an innate interest but because he fell in love with the country and aesthetics of the Brazilian people .His intellectual interest followed his heart.

So I ask why is his life a redemption?  His life teaches us about passion, the haphazardness of life, the value of simple pleasures, the dignity of ordinariness, and that hard work leads to success even if contemplated on a ‘Canes website.

 His life is a tribute to the idea that we do not need a ten point plan to succeed,  don’t need righteous goals to be righteous, don’t need a mentoring course to mentor, don’t need a party planner to party and most important that one can be extraordinary, doing some very ordinary things.  

Bill redeemed many of us not out of purpose but at of great fun. His life provides hope that our own discombobulated lives will in the end have worth, that perfection of purpose and organization is not mandatory.   

Bill provides us solace that we can mess up, goof around, be unsure of what we want to do and yet in the end if we have passion and intellect great things may come our way.

Bill life is a monument that respect for those whom are unseen in the shadows is more important than homage to those whom need to be in the light.

Bill called me two Christmas ago from the SICU after he was called by a surgeon whom could find no one else to see a patient. The patient had HIV, bowel lymphoma and a leukemic phase of his disease. Bill spoke to the family, comforted them, took a sample of their blood for his lab and proceeded to convince me to get a beer and marvel at the oddness of the circumstances.   He saw the patient not out of obligation or as a result of mandated responsibilities. Rather his actions merely reflected the demeanor of the physician scientist, a man predisposed for adventure and compassion in the most peculiar venues.  

This is was my friend; this was William Harrington, Jr.; this is why he was special. “

Dr. Mark Goodman, April 2009