Elaine Keen Harrington of Middlesex passed away peacefully at home on July 16 surrounded by her family after a long illness. She was born in Red Bank, NJ on March 12, 1950 as the oldest of eight children of Harry and Mildred Keen. Always an excellent student, she graduated a year early from Mater Dei High School in Middletown, NJ and received a B.S. in Elementary Education from Lyndon State College and an M.A. in English from the University of Vermont. She met her future husband, Paul Harrington of Montpelier, during an 8 am English class at Lyndon State. Years later, she would tell her students at the University of Vermont that there could be added benefits to taking an early morning English class. Elaine and Paul were married on July 8, 1972 at the Church in Lower Waterford and had two daughters, Rebecca and Rachel. They moved to Center Road in Middlesex in 1976, where Elaine began her career as a journalist, writer, and teacher. Her writing and editing experiences included the Times Argus and Rutland Herald, Vermont Life Magazine, and the UVM Vermont Quarterly. She taught Journalism, Expository Writing, and American Literature at UVM and English as Second Language at Spaulding High School and in language schools in Washington, D.C. and Cambridge, England. She was a Board member of the Vermont Council of the Humanities and previously served as a Board member of the Vermont Council of the Arts. Over the past few years she has recorded commentaries for Vermont Public Radio. To listen to her commentaries, please go to: http://digital.vpr.net/people/elaine-harrington. Her grandsons called her Mina and they inspired her to start "Mina Knits," a brand of hand-knitted hats sold at the Artisan's Hand in Montpelier. Tall, elegant, and gracious with snow-white hair, she was very easy to find in a crowd. Her 10-year-old grandson Nico described her best when he said, "Mina, you have a good heart." She is survived by her husband of 43 years, Paul Harrington of Middlesex, daughters Rebecca Harrington of Fort Worth, TX and Rachel Harrington of Truro, MA, grandsons Nico Harrington and Xanti Hassan, parents Harry and Mildred Keen of Waterford, and siblings Marie Shaw, Nora Close, David Keen, Anita Waite, Stephen Keen, Eric Keen, and Ron Keen. The family wishes to thank the physicians, nurses and therapists at the UVM and Central Vermont Medical Centers and CVHHH for providing such high quality and compassionate care. Elaine's siblings and many friends provided incredible support and companionship during her illness. An outdoor memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm on Sunday, July 19 at the Harrington's house located at 436 Center Road, Middlesex. Burial will take place immediately following the service in the Middlesex Center Cemetery. A reception for friends and family will be held after the burial service at the Harrington's house. Contributions may be made in her memory to the building restoration fund of Christ Episcopal Church in Montpelier. On-line condolences may we sent to www.guareandsons.com