George Harrington Obituary

Falmouth, Maine - George Francis "Hago" Harrington, lived every day to its fullest, spreading joy, his intelligent good wit, boundless generosity, love and heartfelt compassion indiscriminately with family, friends, acquaintances, and total strangers, indeed anyone who came into his life, even for fleeting moments.

Hago's joie de vivre can be encapsulated in one of his favorite expressions, where he loved to encourage us to, "Drive fast, take risks." We've come to learn that George was not recommending a life of reckless endangerment, but this was George's way of saying that we should love deeply, take risks in love, in relationships, and that we should enjoy life, with everyone.

George was born in Chelsea, MA, on August 20th, 1936, and passed away peacefully at age 88 at his home in Falmouth, ME, on Sunday, May 18th, 2025, with a number of memorable stops in between. He grew up in the Beachmont section of Revere, MA and was a proud graduate of Immaculate Conception High School. He worked hard to put himself through Boston College and then earned an MBA at the University of Chicago, where he discovered his knack for finance. After B-school, George's career in investment management accelerated quickly, with his early years spent at great institutions like Arthur Anderson and Keystone Funds. His mutual fund experience in the late '60s was then followed by his launching of Boston Equity Investment Management, one of the first professional hedge funds of the modern era. While his career as a hedge fund manager ended calamitously with the OPEC oil embargo and the resulting stock market crash in 1973, it was in the investment business where he fostered many long-lasting Wall Street relationships. George loved money management, but he really fell in love with the people of the Wall Street institutional community who embraced him. Most of those folks, including many Wall Street legends, loved George, too, and he was forever grateful for the many lifelong friendships that resulted from his, short-lived, but memorable "drive fast, take risks" approach to "the business."

During the tumult when George was winding down his fund, his first wife and high-school sweetheart, Rosalie, launched the widely popular "Rosalie's Restaurant" in 1973. With incredibly hard work, and with the help and support of Marbleheaders and the surrounding communities, Rosalie's soon became known as one of the best Italian restaurants in the Boston area. George decided to leave the hedge fund business and throw all his energy into building the restaurant business with Rosalie. With her amazing, award-winning cuisine and George's focus on hospitality and front-of-the-house operations, Rosalie's became known as a well-known, memorable destination, a place for family and friends to enjoy and celebrate every day.

In 1987, George married his second wife, Deborah Schneider, with whom he would spend the rest of his life. After Rosalie's, and a 5-year hiatus from the restaurant business, George opened the Lyceum Bar & Grill in Salem, MA. "The Lyceum" was a warm and welcoming place where the social buzz, great comfort food and George's welcoming hospitality made it a regular standby for many in the surrounding community. Many regulars will fondly remember Deborah's mother, Claire Schneider, who often held court at the bar.

Beyond the busy-ness of family life and running the Lyceum, George made time to give back to his community. George often told his children and grandchildren, "Pick one thing - you'll make more impact." He lived by this philosophy in his deep commitment to disability advocacy, especially through his work with the Northeast Arc. George became a driving force behind many Northeast Arc initiatives - hosting annual charity golf tournaments, launching the "Touch to Talk: iPads for Autism" to help nonverbal children communicate through assistive technology, and leading a successful capital campaign to establish the Arc's Autism Support Center in Danvers, Massachusetts. His efforts helped ensure lasting support and resources for some of the community's most vulnerable families.

Hago's infectious good humor, winning smile, kind-hearted ways, and daily presence will be forever missed, but will also be remembered by everyone he touched. Like all of us, George may have been imperfect, but he was an amazing father, husband, brother, grandfather, uncle, and close friend to many. He is predeceased by his sister, Helen Smith, and survived by his wife, Deborah Schneider; his first wife, Rosalie Harrington and their 4 children - daughter's Susan Harrington and her partner, Allen Woodman of Beverly, MA, Kathy McKay and her husband, Bill of Sebastian, FL, Danielle Harrington and her partner, Jon Roy of Beverly, MA, and son George Harrington, Jr and his wife, Mary, of Beverly, MA; grandchildren Kelley Mathiesen and her wife, Marisa, Emma and Madeleine Harrington, Ethan and Nicholas Thorn; and great granddaughter, Claire Mathiesen.

Online messages of condolence can be submitted at www.mainefuneral.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Northeast Arc, 1 Southside Road, Danvers, MA, 01923.

George's family is grateful for the love and support of our community. Knowing how fondly and widely he will be remembered helps to ease the pain of his loss.

On Monday, June 16,2025, 5-8 pm, a celebration of life will be held upstairs at Turner's Seafood, 43 Church St, Salem, MA 01970.

Information will be posted to www.mainefuneral.com and to other select media outlets.