Joan Harrington Smith 

Described as “a guiding light” and “visionary”, Joan Harrington Smith leaves her permanent mark on Washington County, Oregon, through her extraordinary leadership and tireless efforts as a board member, executive director and director emeritus of the Washington County Historical Society and Washington County Museum.   One local newspaper said it best, that “this transplanted New Englander’s drive, unfolding of successfully executed ideas and professionalism have been a true blessing for all the County.” 

It is Joan’s passion and strongly held belief in the importance and place of history, music and culture in our society, together with her brilliant organizational skills, which set her apart as an effective and impactful community leader. 

The best evidence of Joan’s accomplishments was her service for over 25 years from 1976 to 2001 as a board member and executive director of the Washington County Historical Society.  During this period she can be attributed with the building of a new Washington County Museum on the Rock Creek Campus of Portland Community College, a sizeable increase in the museum’s annual operating budget, the significant growth of the museum’s collection of artifacts, the publishing of the county’s first hardback pictorial history “This Far-Off Sunset Land”, and the tens of thousands of young people who learned to appreciate their local history through the museum’s model education programs.   

Joan also has served her community and state through a variety of other board involvements, including Chamber Music Northwest, Convention and Visitors Bureau of Washington County, and KPBS, Oregon’s public classical radio station.    

Born and raised near Boston, Massachusetts, Joan Harrington attended Smith College where she majored in history.  After college, she spent 10 years in advertising for industrial and technology companies.  She met and married Dr. Roger Smith and moved to Oregon in 1965 so that he could complete his residency at the University of Oregon Medical School.  The couple settled in Hillsboro, where they raised two daughters who both have followed their mother’s example finishing college, making a difference through their professional careers and community involvement, and starting families of their own. 

For one who loves history, the history of Joan Harrington Smith is one of playing many roles:  student and .life-long learner, wife, mother, grandmother, businesswomen, non-profit and community leader, to name a few.  What defines Joan as a heroine is not her long list of titles and accomplishments, but how she has applied herself to everything she has done, with intelligence, dedication, and resolve.  

Friends and colleagues honor Joan Harrington Smith. Submitted by Mark Granlund.