Davis C. Barrett

Davis C. Barrett, 1949-2014 Davis Corwin Barrett, 64, died in his Port Townsend WA home April 12, 2014. Barrett was a leading Alaska purse seiner for some 30 years, usually fishing with his three daughters - Allison, Hannah and Ilsa, now in their 20s - and his wife of 30 years, Adrienne Ely. Described as a Renaissance man, Barrett was a respected voice for commercial fishermen, serving 20 years on the board of the Southeast Alaska Seiners Association (SEAS) and the Seiner Reserve Insurance Board. Said Bobby Thorstenson Jr., SEAS executive director, "Davis was a high liner. One of the best there ever was. He bowed to Tlingit and Haida tradition while learning commercial fishing from great men and friends. He was a true high liner who did not fudge lines or crowd others." Barrett helped create the Pacific Salmon Treaty and ensured sustainable fisheries around the Tongass National Forest. Barrett was born in Seattle in 1949 to Beach and Jan Sorensen Barrett. He graduated from Lakeside High School in 1968 attending college at Middlebury in Vermont, WSU and Seattle University in Washington State. He started fishing at 16 and became a skipper at 26. He married Adrienne in 1983 and moved to Port Townsend in 1990. Due to health issues, he retired from fishing in 2010, selling the Glacier Bay. Survivors include his wife, daughters and siblings: Tom Barrett (Jan), Portland OR; Judith Barrett, San Francisco CA; Kate Nunn (Remmel) and Ellen Dudley (Matthew) of New York. His parents preceded him. An afternoon service and potluck at family property near Seabeck WA is set for April 26th at 1 PM. Please email alberdelli@gmail.com for details.