Name of Deceased: Marjorie Doreen Harrington
Date of Death: August 20, 2012
Date of Birth: January 10, 1921 at London, England Parents Name: Herbert & Victoria (Forman) Hudspith
OBITUARY INFORMATION
After attending Harrow Art School and Kilburn Polytechnical College, where she actively sought to be a women’s clothing designer, she married the Reverend Norman McCallum in 1939. After World War II, the McCallums immigrated to the United States with their daughter, Brenda, and spent several years serving churches in Iowa, Rhode Island, Wyoming and Illinois, before coming to Kansas. They later divorced and she married the Reverend Roy W. Harrington July 4, 1980 at Great Bend, Kansas. He died March 13, 1996.
Marge, as she was nicknamed, became a stringer for the Great Bend Tribune which led to full-time employment as Women’s Editor. Prior to coming to Kansas, Marge had written and published several short stories in a British Magazine for women, and had been a reporter for the Woonsocket (R. I.) Call. She also produced crossword puzzles for Dell Magazine. While raising her family as a single parent, Marge began taking wedding photographs which led to the opening of her studio, Marge’s Photography, Inc.Among the many jobs she had, writing brought her the greatest satisfaction. While working full-time at the Tribune, she began a weekly column “It Seems to Me.” Later, after her marriage, she wrote biographical pieces about people who had helped Barton County get on the map. This weekly series was called “Autographs of Barton County” and was eventually published in two books. The column was later begun again, continuing until the well-read pieces stopped in 2004.
Mrs. Harrington was a Great Bend, Kansas resident since 1965, eventually moving into River Bend Assisted Living where she continued producing word search puzzles for the monthly newsletter.
She had been a member of Central Baptist Church and First Congregational United Church of Christ, and was also a member of the Kansas Authors Club. Marge was a lay preacher and preached in a number of area churches, her love of church work becoming an integral part of her life.
SURVIVORS
One son: Peter McCallum of Topeka, KS
Two daughters: Brenda Kelley and her husband Thomas of Grand Junction, CO
Rosalind Neeland and her husband Dennis of Great Bend, KS
Four Grandchildren: Suzanne Smith and her husband Chris, Denver, CO; Maj. Sean Kelley, Dover, DE; Hillary Emerson and her husband Aaron, Lawrence, KS; and Graham Neeland, Kansas City
Three Great-grandchildren: Sarah Smith, Joshua Smith, and Elaine Emerson
One step son: Gerald Harrington of Hays, KS
Two step daughters: Joy Carpenter of Dallas, Texas; Dr. Joan Harrington of Great Bend, KS; and Norma Hodges of Kelseyville, California
She was preceded in death by two brothers, Stanley Hudspith and Herbert Hudspith; and one sister, Winifred Rowse, all of England.
SERVICE INFORMATION
Memorial Service: 10:30 a.m., Saturday, August 25, 2012 at Central Baptist Church in Great Bend, KS
Officiants: Pastor John Grummon and The Reverend Dr. Joan Harrington
Inurnment: Great Bend Cemetery, Great Bend, KS
Visitation: The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Friday at Bryant Funeral Home
Memorial Fund: Golden Belt Home Health and Hospice or Arthritis Foundation, in care of Bryant Funeral Home
Condolences may be sent and notice viewed at www.bryantfh.net