J. Harold Tharrington

Harold grew up in Raleigh and attended Fred Olds Elementary School and Needham Broughton High School. His graduating class of 1955 was the last to attend Broughton for five years before it converted to a senior high school. In 1952, his parents purchased an oceanfront cottage at Carolina Beach. He spent many summers there and it would later become a place where family and friends would migrate, creating lasting memories. The waterways of North Carolina were in his blood. He spent years enjoying the Pamlico River, Pine Knoll Shores and annual extended family gatherings at Topsail Beach.

After graduating high school, he enrolled in the University of North Carolina and instantly became a life-long Tar Heel loyalist. He joined Kappa Alpha fraternity and was so enamored with college he attended both sessions of summer school for three consecutive years, graduating in 1959.

Harold had long planned to be a pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps after college, however, disappointingly he did not meet the physical criteria and was left to ponder another career path. In 1960, he enrolled in the UNC School of Law and was awarded his Juris Doctor Degree with Honors in 1963. N.C Supreme Court Justice Susie Sharp hired Harold directly out of law school for one year as her law clerk. Years later he served as campaign treasurer for her successful election as the first female Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court.

Following his clerkship, Harold decided to follow a path taken by few and start his own law firm with friend and classmate, Wade Smith. Neither had practiced law a day in their life before opening the doors of Tharrington & Smith. Harold served as lawyer, receptionist and secretary during their first year of existence. The partnership income tax return that year reported that each had earned $26. As the new boys in town, they became the beneficiaries of referred cases other lawyers did not want. This source of clientele became their gold and fashioned the pathway for long and successful careers.

Harold immersed himself deeply into becoming a skilled practitioner of law and raising a family. In 1975 he was one of the first lawyers to challenge courthouse decorum by growing a full beard to complement the mustache he had sported for years previously, both of which he kept for the rest of his life. He was one of the first lawyers in North Carolina to specialize exclusively in Family Law and one of the best, most highly respected and feared advocates in his field of expertise.

Early in the 1990’s Harold began to realize that winning at life was more important than winning in the courtroom and he started a metamorphosis back from lawyer to person, believing that the greatest achievement in life is the ability to appreciate it fully. He retired from actively practicing law in 1995 and devoted the rest of his life to spending more time with family and friends, experiencing new places and people and enjoying the unique wonders and cultures of the world. His credo became “Life doesn't get any better than this…..until tomorrow”. His goal was that each day be better than the last. He did it well. He visited 87 other countries around the world, many of those multiple times. With his final trip to Antarctica in the fall of 2023, he achieved a goal of visiting all 7 continents.

He had a keen eye and insatiable love for art that he collected worldwide. The treasures and momentos he brought back from his travels constitute a virtual museum of memories in his home. In addition to travel, his pleasures included food and wine, good laughs, music of all genres, dancing, mystery novels and large doses of camaraderie.

Harold is survived by his lovely, devoted soulmate and best friend, Bonne Merlau Tharrington, Their love affair began with a rendezvous in Paris for a first date on May 21, 1996. In 1998, they joined hands for life. The intimacy and uniqueness of their love was apparent to all who knew them. He was renowned, among his close friends, for singing hammed up acapella renditions of love songs to Bonne at parties. The fact that he couldn't carry a tune made little difference.

Harold is also survived by his children Mark, Blair and Sharon Tharrington; grandchildren Annie, Hudson and Sam Wiedmer and Casey, Dylan and Grace Tharrington; daughter in law, Sue Tharrington; two step-children, Elizabeth Harris and John Stark and four step-grandchildren, Barnes, Anna, Henry and Sara Beth Harris.

Good times, lots of love and fun were abundant in the family. He will be remembered in the soundtrack of their minds as a free-spirited, devoted and loving husband, parent, grandfather and mentor who loved life, new adventures and always had a positive outlook and a genuine smile.

The family would like to thank Dr. Jim Parsons for his loving care over the years; Lekita Essa and her wonderful team of caregivers and the staff at Duke Home Care & Hospice. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, 047 Baker House, Trent Drive, Durham, NC 27710 (https://www.gifts.duke.edu/dukehealth/?designation=3912597).

A Celebration of Life has been scheduled for July 13 at 11:00 at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, 1801 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh with a reception to follow.

Services are entrusted to Brown-Wynne Funeral Home and Crematory, 300 Saint Mary's St., Raleigh, NC 27605.