LAKE WALES -- Mrs. Ruth Ilene Harrington was looking forward to returning to her job as a receptionist at Cypress Gardens Medical Clinic, where she had been employed for 10 years. "She had a goal of going back to work at the first of this year, even if it was part time," her daughter, Kelly Stewart of Winter Haven said. "She really enjoyed interacting with all the people. She just had a way about her that she just was an awesomely caring and loving person. She would help anybody and do anything for them. She was just like an angel." Mrs. Harrington died of cancer Friday (Jan. 2, 2004) at Winter Haven Hospital. She was 63. Born in Waynesburg, Ky., on Jan. 25, 1940, she came to Lake Wales from Ohio 35 years ago to join her parents, who were in the area running a business. She worked as a receptionist at a physician's office in Winter Haven for several years before becoming a receptionist at Cypress Gardens Medical Center. Mrs. Harrington enjoyed making crafts and traveling to Cincinnati to be with her family. "She loved spending time up north with her brother and sister-in-law. She would go up there for a month every year," Stewart said. Mrs. Harrington was preceded in death by her husband of 27 years, Joseph Harrington, in 1995. In addition to her daughter, she is survived by her brothers, Rodger Smith and Joseph Smith, both of Cincinnati, and Verlee Smith, Ocoee, and two grandchildren. Cremation Services of MidFlorida, Davenport.