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Harrington, Jeffrey M. August 27, 1959 January 13, 2024 Jeffrey M. Harrington, 64, passed away January 13, 2024, in St. Paul, MN. Jeff was passionate about music (especially jazz), photography, golf, skiing and his family. He was an articulate, creative, quick-witted and sometimes-quirky free spirit who was a fine conversationalist and an entertaining storyteller. Jeff is survived by his two sons, Jacob of Minneapolis and Lucas of Nashville, TN, and his former wife, Lori Harrington of Minneapolis. He is also survived by his mother, H. Jaynee Walstad (Richard) of Fargo, ND, and his two younger brothers, Brian (Shelly) and John. He was born August 27, 1959, in Minot, ND. His mother had been Miss North Dakota while his father, the late H. Gene Harrington, was in the cattle business. Jeff lived in town, where he played golf and swam at the local country club, but he also spent many hours on the family's ranch. He rode horses there with his brothers, did cattle roundups and caught gophers in homemade traps. At Minot High School, Jeff was a member of the baseball team until a freak water-skiing accident injured his arm and ended his playing days. Instead, he started working at a local ski shop and that sparked a life-long love for skiing. Jeff's passion for both photography and jazz were kindled early by family members. Jeff's mother encouraged his early photographic efforts, while Grandpa Bob Winje introduced him to jazz. Grandpa Bob would sit Jeff down in his living room, pull out a vinyl record from one of the jazz greats, tell Jeff all about the musician and then play the record on the turntable. Jeff was hooked. After a couple of years at the University of North Dakota, Jeff transferred to St. Cloud State, where he majored in journalism. A college friend remembered that Jeff lived in the "smart dorm," for those with a GPA of 3.8 and above. Jeff, of course, liked to blast his speakers very loudly out of his dorm window to share his music with his fellow students. He had his first photo exhibition, titled "Pedestrian View," while in college at a local gallery. Jeff worked multiple jobs, including at Fitzharris Ski Shop, where he made lifelong friends. He met Lori O'Loughlin while they were both working in the college library (Jeff in production services and Lori in the equipment distribution center). They married in 1984. After Jeff graduated from St. Cloud State, he moved to Minneapolis and worked for Media Loft, a production company specializing in video/film production, meetings and special events. By the time he left in the late 1990s, Jeff had worked his way up to president of the company. He later helped run other Twin Cities creative agencies, including Compass Media and Popular Front Interactive, but what he really loved was photography. In the mid-2010s, he fulfilled a life-long dream and converted his avocation to his profession by buying the Minneapolis Photo Center. Whether it was printing and hanging large photos for exhibitions, developing negatives old school in the darkroom or teaching the fundamentals of photography to teens, Jeff was in his element. Jeff was a skilled street photographer with a good eye for light and framing and seeing the unusual and unique in his surroundings. One of his trademarks was including his own shadow in photos. Jeff was also especially proud of a photo essay he shot at the Lanesboro, MN, Stockyards because it paid homage to his ranching heritage. Lanesboro was a special place for Jeff because Lori's grandparents, Orval and Marie Amdahl, lived there on Cedar Cliff overlooking the Root River. He loved visiting them and being surrounded by family and friends. Jeff was a self-described audiophile who loved jazz and rock music. He owned more than a thousand vinyl records, hundreds of CDs and was a fixture of the Minneapolis music scene for decades. Jeff knew musicians, promoters and club owners, and attended thousands of shows. He especially loved the Dakota Jazz Club and even more so when son Lucas worked there for a time. When the club offered memberships, he was member number four. Earlier in life, when his sons were young, Jeff would help put them to bed and then go to the 10pm Dakota late show while his family slept. He was passionate about golf and what he may have lacked in talent, he made up for with sheer determination and enthusiasm. Playing with Jeff was always a guarantee of four-plus hours of adventure and entertainment. He was a great trash-talker on and off the course and in the last days of his life announced that he was going to switch to playing left-handed. For Jeff, his highlights on the golf course included winning the "Geno Tournament," named after his late father, against a group of tight-knit friends from high school and college, and having a hole-in-one in recent years at Braemar Golf Course. Jeff was a loving father who always made time for his sons Jacob and Lucas. He coached them in Edina Rec youth baseball and basketball and did a yearly camping trip to the Boundary Waters with them for nearly 20 years. Jeff was introduced to the splendor of the Boundary Waters by his father-in-law, Mike O'Loughlin, and the yearly off-the-grid canoeing and camping trip also included his brothers-in-law, Brian and Kevin. Because of their birth years, Jeff turned 52 in the same year Jacob turned 25. The numeric oddity happened again in the summer of 2022 when Jeff turned 63 and Jacob 36. In typical Jeff fashion, he threw a big party at the Minneapolis Photo Center to celebrate, featuring a live band (including at least one former member of Prince's band). Jeff could be impulsive, but his heart was always in the right place. Witness the time he was in Austin, MN, on business and adopted a Boston Terrier dog from two boys on a street corner. When he showed up at home later that day, he was met by two very excited sons and a not-so-excited wife. Lori, however, soon fell in love with "Max," the little black-and-white dog, and he became an integral part of their family. Jeff was loyal and generous and lived life to the fullest. He dreamed and lived large. Jeff immersed himself in life and was at his happiest when surrounded by friends and music. In the words of one of Jeff's favorite bands, The Jayhawks, who he saw countless times: "He's the man, he's the man. He's the man who loved life." The celebration of life for Jeff will be Friday, January 19, 2024, at 2pm at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 4100 South Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis. Visitation will be at 1pm and a reception will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, donations would be welcome to the MN Boston Terrier Club, PO Box 10733, St. Paul, MN 55110 or mnbtc.com/… |
