Margaret (Smith) Harrington, a longtime resident of Framingham who brought grace, intelligence and unswerving loyalty to her family and a sizable circle of friends over the course of an eventful life, died early Thursday morning in Ridgefield, CT after a long illness. She was 83. For Mrs. Harrington, known to most as Peg or Peggy, kinship and friendship were truly sacred pursuits. She understood that a persons true value lay, when all was said and done, in the ability to make and sustain connections with others over time. Her own quite extraordinary capabilities in this area were the result of a constant drive to imagine what the person sitting across from her really might be thinking and feeling. Underlying it all was her deeply held belief that most people are not only good, but capable of teaching her -- and everyone else -- important things about the great mysteries of life. Margaret Smith was born on March 11, 1929 in Leominster, the daughter of Dr. I.W. Smith and Kathleen (Lawless) Smith. She graduated from Leominster High School and Skidmore College, where she was elected president of College Government. After working in the deans office of her alma mater, she entered the classroom, serving as a much-loved teacher and advisor at Baldwin-Templeton High School and Lexington High. She married J. Frederick Harrington, MD, in 1956. As her husband completed his medical training, the couple lived in Cleveland and Washington, DC, where Mrs. Harrington taught in the public schools. Dr. and Mrs. Harrington then settled in Framingham, where they lived for 36 years. While raising five children, Mrs. Harrington was active in a number of charitable and community organizations. She was a longtime member of the Framingham Union Hospital Aid Society, for which she served many terms as an officer. She played an active role in the planning of the Framinghams 275th anniversary celebration and taught the Great Books program in the Framingham public schools. She was a member of St. Bridgets Church for more than 30 years. After her children went to college, Mrs. Harrington returned to work in scholastic sales for Random House. She and her husband moved to East Dennis in 1996, where Mrs. Harrington was a member of Our Lady of the Cape Church in Brewster and the Sesuit Neck Property Owners Association. Mrs. Harrington was predeceased by her husband of 41 years in 1997. She was also preceded in death by her sister Kathleen F. Smith and brother Richard L. Smith. Mrs. Harrington is survived by her children J. Frederick Harrington, MD, and wife Laurene of Providence, RI; Kathleen Harrington of Washington, DC; Thomas Harrington of Hartford, CT; Christine Harrington and husband Todd Hutchen of Mt. Kisco, NY; and John Harrington of Wilmington, DE. She also is survived by her nine grandchildren: Rebecca, William and Allison Harrington; Erin and Desmond OBrien; Sophia, Liliana and Luke Harrington; and Daniel Hutchen. Relatives and friends were invited to attend her funeral on Wednesday, August 1, 2012, at 8 AM from the Norton Funeral Home, 53 Beech St., Framingham, followed by her funeral Mass at 9 AM in St. Bridget Church, 830 Worcester Rd., Rte 9 @ Framingham Centre. Burial followed at Edgell Grove Cemetery, Framingham. Visiting were at the funeral home will be Tuesday from 5 | 8 PM. Expressions of sympathy in Mrs. Harringtons memory may be made to ;(function() { var adKeyValue = 't='; adKeyValue+= escape('clio=ALZ'); adKeyValue += escape('&cobrand=wickedlocal-framingham'); adKeyValue += escape('&linktext=Alzheimer\'s Association'); adKeyValue += escape('&linkurl=https://act.alz.org/site/Donation2?df_id=5080&5080.donation=form1&set.TributeType=MEMORIAL&set.custom.honoree_name=Margaret Harrington&set.TributeMessage=A+gift+has+been+made+in+remembrance+of+Margaret Harrington'); adKeyValue += escape('&fn=Margaret'); adKeyValue += escape('&ln=Harrington'); var adClkUrl = 'http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?iu=/423686928/prod/obit-aff/obit-standard/clio-inline-1&' + adKeyValue + '&sz=1x1&c=424681491'; var adImpUrl = 'http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?iu=/423686928/prod/obit-aff/obit-standard/clio-inline-1&' + adKeyValue + '&sz=1x1&c=424681491'; document.write("<a href='" + adClkUrl + "' target=_blank>Alzheimer\'s Association<" + 'img' + " src='" + adImpUrl + "' style='width=1px; height=1px; display:inline;' /></a>"); }());, PO Box 96011, Washington, DC 20090-6011. For directions and online guestbook log onto www. nortonfuneralhome.com