Netha Greene Harrington

She was born on June 4, 1926, in Spur, TX, the second oldest of 4 children, to Elmer and Ruby Denson. She was raised in Floydada, TX, by her mother and beloved step-father, Roy Eubank. She finished high school in Lamesa, TX, at age 16, after taking all the classes offered, except chemistry, which girls were not allowed to take.

Netha wanted to travel and to help people, so she tried to enlist in the Navy as a nurse trainee. When she was rejected for being too short, she went to work as a bookkeeper, a profession she followed throughout her working life. She married Ozzie Drennan in Lamesa, TX, and had 2 daughters, Dianne and Nanette. In 1954, she married her second husband, Bill Harrington, who was the love of her life and a devoted step-father to her children. She and Bill owned a general store in Key, TX, outside Lamesa, and then settled in Sundown, TX, in 1958. They operated a department store there, helped start the city bank and the town’s cemetery, and ran a laundromat for Sundown residents who had been driving 15 miles to Levelland to wash their clothes. After Bill became ill, they sold their businesses and traveled throughout Texas and the Southwest in their travel trailer until he passed away in 1973. She nursed him during his lengthy illness and learned everything she could about health foods that might prolong his life.

Netha married Vernon Greene in 1974 and spent two decades volunteering at hospitals and nursing homes in Levelland and Lubbock, TX. She loved having the family come for holidays and vacations, and her grandchildren spent summers at her big, rambling homes. She and Vernon travelled throughout the Southwest in their travel trailer, and had a winter home in Yuma, AZ. She made many enduring friendships with people from all over the country along the way. She enjoyed trips to Hawaii, Australia, Alaska, Japan, and France with her daughter Dianne and her granddaughter Wendy Perben. Netha bravely parasailed in Hawaii, went white-water rafting in Australia, and took a helicopter trip to a glacier in Alaska. In 2003 she moved to Houston, to be nearer her family.

Netha will be remembered for her bright blue eyes and wide smile, for her willingness to listen to and help people, for her love of adventure and her courage in adversity. Wherever she lived, she always joined a church and generously volunteered her time and money to people in need. And she loved animals: dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, terrapins all found food, water, and tender care at her home. She rescued abandoned and abused Pugs and Yorkies, and raised Pugs for several years.

Netha was preceded in death by her daughter Nanette Newsome, her brother Wendell Denson, and her sister, Norma McCarty. She is survived by her sister Lena Ross of Roanoke, VA; daughter Dianne Harrington of Houston; grandson Cary Phillips and his wife Sasha and daughters Caris and Cadie of Sweeny, Texas; granddaughter Traci Gupton and her husband Mike and children Katlyn, Sarah, and Phillip, of Houston; granddaughter Wendy Perben and her husband Guillaume and children Jasmine and Julien, of Yens, Switzerland; and several nieces and nephews, including Carla Dewbre and her husband Dane, of Levelland.

Netha will be buried in Sundown, TX, next to her husband Bill Harrington and near her daughter Nanette. Graveside services will be on Friday, Nov. 28 at Sundown Cemetery, officiated by Pastor Randy Winfrey. The family would appreciate donations to the SPCA or to the Alzheimer’s Assn. in Netha’s memory.Condolences may be offered at www.resthavenfuneralhome.com