Alfred G. Harrington | Postal union official, 88

Alfred G. Harrington of Mount Airy, a retired postal worker and union official, died of heart failure at Abington Memorial Hospital on Dec. 20, two days before his 89th birthday.

A native of North Carolina, Mr. Harrington moved to Philadelphia in 1942. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps in Florida.

After his discharge, he joined the U.S. Postal Service as a forklift operator and later worked in the print shop at the main post office on 30th Street.

For 20 years, Mr. Harrington was secretary-treasurer of National Postal Mail Handlers Union Local 308 in Philadelphia. He served a term as president of the local and for several years was a regional union representative. He was soft-spoken and easygoing but a keen negotiator, his daughter Gail said.

Mr. Harrington loved baseball, especially the Brooklyn Dodgers, and enjoyed fishing, politics, African American culture, and cooking, his daughter said. He was always available to help out in the kitchen at Grace Baptist Church in Germantown, where he was known for his silken grits and sweet-potato pie, she said.

In addition to his daughter, Mr. Harrington is survived by his wife of 64 years, Korean Ellerbe Harrington; a son, Alfred; another daughter, Kimberley; and six nieces and nephews.

A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. today at Grace Baptist Church, 25 W. Johnson St., Germantown, where friends may call after 9 a.m. Burial will be in Ivy Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia.