1951

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Andrew “Buzz” Harrington Jr. ’51 was born on Aug. 9, 1929, in Fort Worth, Texas, where his father played minor league baseball. Over the next dozen years, his family moved to different baseball locations, including Boise, Twin Falls, Seattle, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco, where his father played for and later managed minor league teams. Andy was always darting around the team clubhouse as a youngster and was nicknamed “Buzz” by his dad’s teammates, a nickname that stuck for life. Buzz’s family settled in Boise at the end of his dad’s baseball career managing the Boise Pilots. He and his dad, Andy Sr., mom Lilian, and sister Pats formed a tight-knit family that was active at St. Mary’s Church and in the community. Buzz graduated in 1947 from Boise High School, where he was a star football, basketball, and baseball athlete and was voted (unexpected to him, but sincerely appreciated) senior class president. The Braves won state championships in football and basketball his senior year, and took second in baseball. Buzz went on to play four years of baseball on scholarship at Santa Clara University, and sports remained forever a big part of his life. He served in the Air Force during the Korean War for four years after college and was stationed in Alabama and Okinawa. He attended law school at the University of Idaho and practiced law for over 30 years, beginning at the Idaho Transportation Department and continuing in private practice as a deft litigator at Langroise Sullivan and Anderson Kaufman. Buzz was an avid reader his entire life, especially enjoying history, politics, philosophy, theology, and fiction. He had a revolving stack of library books at his table at all times, with his ubiquitous dictionary nearby. He was a daily visitor at Idaho’s Boise and BSU libraries in retirement and greatly enjoyed his time there with his coffee at the ready. Buzz also liked classic movies and enjoyed sharing memories with his usual good humor. He was a devout Catholic and a regular at daily Mass. He felt that Catholic principles provided the proper guide for life, especially the focus on caring for the less fortunate. All six of his children went through St. Mary’s and Bishop Kelly, and his grandchildren have followed the same educational path in Boise and Portland, Oregon. His Catholic faith carried on to the athletic field, where he was a huge fan of Notre Dame and Bishop Kelly sports. Buzz was proud to win the first lifetime Bishop Kelly fan award a couple years ago, based on his long career attending BK sports, watching his children and grandchildren, and all classes in between. Speaking of grandchildren, Buzz quickly became “Papa” in 1991 with the onset of his 11 grandkids. He was a devoted grandfather to each and followed their activities and sports with a keen interest. Buzz greatly enjoyed his 23 years of retirement and felt blessed to retain his health and mental sharpness until the very end. On Aug. 21, 2017, Buzz passed away in Boise at age 88 with his family by his side. He was a wonderful father and grandfather and is already tremendously missed. Buzz is survived by his children and their spouses Andy (Debbie), Pat (Kathleen), Jamie (Katie), Julie, Teresa, all of Boise, and John (Ramona) of Portland, and by his grandchildren Elena, Andy, Monica, Jo Jo, Celia, Gabi, Amaia, Alicia, Callan, Emma, and Erin. 

08 Nov 2018