Earl Edmund Arrington
For many years, Earl Edmund Arrington and his wife, Virginia, could be seen on the South Fork benefit scene, supporting organizations such as the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation, the Paul Robeson Centennial Fund, and Evidence, a Dance Company. It was part of his dedication to helping the communities he lived in, as well as their youth. According to his family, he was fond of saying, “If you can do something, anything, to help somebody, do it.”
Mr. Arrington, a successful real estate broker for over half a century, died on Sept. 9 at home in Sag Harbor. He was 82 and had Parkinson’s disease for the past 15 years.
He was “a gentle man who lived life with enthusiasm, graciousness, and compassion for others,” his family said. “He was a legend of his own. During the last weeks and days of his life, he never complained, and his amazing sense of humor continued to be strong even with his limited ability to communicate.”
He was born on May 25, 1933, in Brooklyn to Gladys Jackson Arrington and Reginald Arrington Sr. From 1953 to 1955, he served in the Army in the Korean War and was honorably discharged. He and Virginia Arrington were married in 1960, and they had two children, Angelique Arrington Johnson and Michelle Arrington Walter.
Throughout his life, Mr. Arrington served on numerous boards and participated in a variety of social organizations, such as the Englewood Social Club, the Comus Club, and the Guardsmen. His family said he cherished the friendships he made there. Locally, he had been active in the Sag Harbor Initiative.
He is survived by his wife, his daughters, and a granddaughter, along with a number of cousins, nieces, and nephews. A service was held on Sunday at the J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home in Jamaica, Queens.
The family has suggested several organizations of meaning to Mr. Arrington for memorial contributions, including the Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps, P.O. Box 2725, Sag Harbor 11963, the National CARES Mentoring Movement, 5 Penn Plaza, 15th Floor, New York City 10001, Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York, 186 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn 11201-4326, and the Fresh Air Fund, 633 Third Avenue, 14th Floor, New York City 10017.