To say Norb Harrington was a giver is a serious understatement.
The retired banker formerly of Mankato, and then of Rochester, served on countless boards and committees and funded a variety of causes at Minnesota State University.
Harrington, 76, died unexpectedly Aug. 4.
Maureen Gustafson, donor relations director at the Mankato Area Foundation, met Harrington in the early 1990s when she was president of the Mankato Chamber of Commerce. She describes Harrington as very generous, a real leader and a true advocate.
“He was the best,” she said. “We’re going to miss him.”
Gustafson said one of Harrington’s biggest achievements was wooing the Minnesota Vikings to keep its training camp in Mankato at a time when the team was considering leaving. Harrington stepped in and he and the bank he worked for, Norwest Bank, convinced the team to stay.
“They had such a big economic impact on the entire community,” she said. “Norb knew that and he knew we had to keep them here, and we were able to do that for another 20 years, which was really cool. His bank was a bigger bank in town but functioned as a small bank helping out.”
The two also served together on the MSU Foundation Board. Gustafson said Harrington did so much and was a “fabulous advocate for Minnesota State University.”
Harrington was an MSU graduate after serving in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1972, getting both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from MSU. As a college student, he worked part time as a bank teller and after graduation became a full-time employee of what was then Norwest Bank. He worked his way up to president.
In 1997, Harrington moved to Rochester and was president of Norwest Bank/Wells Fargo and later promoted in the chain to regional president of Greater Minnesota until he retired in 2007.
Despite his departure, Harrington had left a mark on Mankato.
He established at least four endowments at MSU and gave generously to the university in a variety of areas, said Cathy Willette, director of development for the College of Business at MSU. He supported the department of theater and dance, the college of business and men’s and women’s hockey. “I think those are the biggest areas,” she said.
“His generosity is going to be felt for generations through his scholarship and philanthropy,” Willette said. “He’s been a big part of MSU. I’m disappointed I never got to meet him.”
Harrington sat on the college of business advisory board, was vice president of the Foundation Board, awarded the distinguished alumni award in 2000 and is in the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame as a booster. He was also part of the university’s Purple and Gold Society.
Don Brose, retired MSU men’s hockey coach, said Harrington was key in the team going to Division I in 1995. “He was very supportive of athletics,” Brose said. “He gave support every which way. Back when we were first starting, budgets were pretty tight and we needed a set of hockey jerseys. Norb paid for that. He was very well thought of in the business community.”
Brose said Harrington had the “ear” of the MSU president. “If he felt something should be done, he would call the president and see if it could be worked out. When he left Mankato for his promotion in Rochester, we lost an outstanding member of the community.”
That MSU president, Richard Davenport, said Harrington was one of the few he would turn to in an advisory capacity when he had a tough decision to make. Davenport said Harrington was good about advising him but “leaving the door open for making a difficult decision. I liked that about him.”
Harrington had a unique way of communicating through storytelling.
“He’d say, this is what we should do and let me tell you a story. And he’d tell a fabulous story,” Davenport said. “He was influential in the background, never wanting to take the spotlight. But he was very helpful to me. He was someone I would go to for his opinion and advice. I valued that and treasured that.”
Harrington was influential at work, too. Dave Nelson, CEO of West Bank in Des Moines, Iowa, met Harrington when he hired Nelson in 1987 at Norwest in Mankato at the young age of 26 years old. He recalls that under Harrington’s leadership, the bank became the top-performing bank in the Norwest Bank system. Harrington referred to his younger colleagues as his “young guns,” Nelson said.
Those young guns went on to become Norwest Bank presidents in Mankato, Owatonna, New Ulm, St. Cloud and Rochester. “He produced all these bank presidents,” Nelson said. “So Norb was our leader for 25 years until he retired in 2007. That’s a compelling story and testament to him.”
Outside of work, Harrington enjoyed studying currency, spending time with family and visiting Maui each year.
He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Diane, daughter, Melissa Leonard, son, Brandon Harrington, and three grandchildren.
Harrington’s funeral service was Thursday at Macken Funeral Home in Rochester.