Judge T. Barrett Harrington

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church for Judge Thomas Barrett Harrington, 79, who died April 10, 2015, at Southwind Assisted Living in Crowley.

Fr. Mikel Polson, pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, will be officiating for the services.

The family is requesting visiting hours to be held Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Geesey-Ferguson Funeral Home in Crowley. A rosary will be recited at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Interment will be in Woodlawn Cemetery.

Esteemed retired Crowley City Court Judge Thomas Barrett “T. Barrett” Harrington was born in Alexandria, Louisiana, to Robert Lee Harrington and Clara Barrett Harrington on Feb. 15, 1936.

After attending, and upon graduating from, Menard Memorial High School in Alexandria in 1953, Harrington immediately enrolled at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge and graduated in 1958 with his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

Following a strong calling to enter the legal profession, Harrington enrolled in Tulane University Law School in New Orleans and earned his Juris Doctor Law Degree in 1962 and was admitted to the Louisiana Bar Association to practice law in all city, state and federal courts in the state of Louisiana.

That same year was eventful for both Harrington and Crowley as he chose to begin his professional career as an attorney in the city of Crowley. Harrington moved to Crowley with his wife, Elizabeth Wheeler Harrington of Alexandria, in June of 1962.

Harrington has had a long and distinguished career as Crowley City Court Judge, as an attorney and as an involved social and civic-minded participant. 

Harrington was first elected Crowley City Court / Sixth Ward Judge in 1983 and served for 26 years until his retirement in 2008. He also was appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court to serve as District Judge Ad Hoc for the 14th, 15th, and 31st Judicial District Courts on numerous occasions. 

After his retirement from the bench, he continued in the practice of law until October of 2010, when he retired, having spent 48 years as an attorney and a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association and Federal Bar Association. 

Harrington has served three terms on the Board of Governors of the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association and he was a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association Professionalism and Quality of Life Program for six years.  He has also served as past president of the Acadia Parish Bar Association. 

Harrington served as an assistant district attorney for the 15th Judicial District Court from 1970 to 1973, and was a founding director and former chairman of the Indigent Defender Board for the 15th Judicial District Court. 

Harrington attended numerous seminars and conferences during his distinguished career, having attended the National College of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the National Judicial College, as well as traveling to Oxford, England, to Wadham College at Oxford University, where he graduated from an advanced aeminar in Anglo-American Jurisprudence.  

Harrington has been an involved member of the community for nearly 50 years, giving of his time and expertise to a number of causes. 

He has been a member of the Crowley Lions Club since October of 1962, and he served as chairman of the Eyesight Committee from 1975 to 2010.

Harrington has served as past president of the International Rice Festival in 1965 and was past secretary-treasurer of the 6th Ward Drainage District. 

Continuing to service his community, Harrington served as a member of the Crowley Police and Civil Service Board and he also served as an instructor in criminal law for the State Fire Marshal’s Office in Baton Rouge.

Harrington is past president of the Crowley Town Club, and is a past King of the Crowley Town Club Revelers Mardi Gras Ball.

He is a member of St. Michael Catholic Church, where he served an usher. He is a 3rd and 4th Degree member of the Knights of Columbus Council #5499.  Harrington is also a member of the Knights of Columbus, Msgr. George Mollo Assembly.

Her served as a member of American Legion Post 15 and also was a member of the Christian Legal Society.

While attending LSU, Harrington became a member of Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity and Sigma Chi Social Fraternity.  He is also a member of the Cadets of the Old War Skule (LSU).

In service to his country, upon graduation from LSU in 1958, Harrington was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Infantry upon completing Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, and Fort Chaffee, Arkansas.

He rose to the rank of Captain, U.S. 20th Special Forces Group Airborne in the Army National Guard.  He was also a paratrooper and a member of the famed Green Berets.

 He was also a scuba diver and was certified as an advanced open water diver. 

Harrington also served as a member of the Acadiana Chapter of the 81st Airborne Division Association and the Central Gulf Coast Special Forces Association. 

In his rare free time, Harrington passionately enjoyed the time spent with his horse “Natchez” as they traversed the hills of Mississippi as members of the Whitmore Hunt Club and the Chula Homa Hunt. He was a member of the Masters of Fox Hound Club of America and Tejas Vaqueros Fraternal Riding Club.  

Judge Harrington and “Liz” were married on June 6, 1959, and recently celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary. They have two children, Thomas Barrett “Rett” Harrington Jr. and wife Mary Beth Meyer of Crowley, and Mary Kathryn Harrington Peltier and husband Robert J. Peltier of Tyler, Texas. He has two sisters, Mary Kathryn H. Kurzweg of New Orleans, and Anne H. Honeycutt of Charlotte, North Carolina. They also have seven grandchildren, John Thomas Harrington, Thomas Barrett Harrington III, Mary Kate Harrington, Robert James “Robbie” Peltier Jr., Patrick Barrett Peltier, Kathryn Elizabeth “Katie” Peltier, and Peyton Ann Peltier.

Of all of Judge Harrington’s treasures in life were his love of his faith, his wife Liz, his children and grandchildren and his endearment of friends and people. He loved his community of Crowley and its citizens. He was a wonderful and humorous storyteller — a true “Irish” gentleman.

The family wishes to thank his many caregivers for their love, dedication and compassion during his illness. 

Condolences may be sent to the family by www.geesey-ferguson.com 

Arrangements have been entrusted to Geesey-Ferguson Funeral Home of Crowley.