Harold Barrett

Harold Barrett was born in Healdsburg, California, to Mathew and Gladys Barrett. In 1948, he married Carol Bliss. They had 5 sons: Joe (Sue), Pat (Patti), Ed (Wende), Lee (who died in 1988), and Jake; 4 grandchildren: Matt, Megan, Kelsey, and Wilson; and 3 great grandchildren: Roselise Sullivan Barrett and the Torres brothers: Devin and Miles.Harold graduated from Healdsburg High School, in 1943 and spent nearly 3 years in the Navy Seabees during World War II. Helped by the marvelous GI Bill, he enrolled in the University of the Pacific, earning a BA degree in 1949 and an MA in 1952. After teaching 4 years at Lodi High School and 5 at Compton College, he entered the graduate school at the University of Oregon, completing a Ph.D. degree in 1962. He taught at Southern Oregon University for 2 years and then California State University Hayward (now Cal State East Bay) for 29 years, retiring in 1992. Actively supporting the new university, he was a leader in developing the widely respected curriculum in communication and rhetoric; he founded the forensics program and the nationally known Conference in Rhetorical Criticism. Harold's lifework was disciplined by his forty-five year study of rhetoric, from which he taught courses in public speaking, interpersonal communication, argumentation, rhetorical criticism, and the history of rhetoric. During the last 20 years of his career, melding his interpersonal and rhetorical interests, he came to focus on ordinary communicative interaction and in particular the positive and problematic rhetorical functions of narcissism in communication. His scholarly articles and some of his 14 books grew out of his study and teaching.Dr. Barrett received his greatest professional satisfaction in teaching students. In retirement, he related to Carol how he wished he could tell all of his studentsof classes from 1950 to 1992--how grateful he was for having had the richly rewarding opportunity of interacting with them--all 15 or 16 thousand, m s o menos (During retirement he began a serious study of the Spanish language, attending classes, joining conversation groups, reading novels and stories, and talking with la gente of Spanish-speaking countries: in South America, Central America, M‚xico, and Spainand the United States, of course. In his 90s, he taught Spanish classes to groups of retired persons.)In 1963, he was named the Faculty Member of the Year at Southern Oregon University, and in 1982, the Outstanding Professor of Cal State University. But foremost always was family, starting with Carol who died in 2012, she with the indomitable spirit and beautiful soul. In their enduring partnership, they brought into the world those five sons, men of character, the grandest achievement of life. Later came those marvelous grandchildren and then the greats.In goodbye to all, he might say, "Cuidate, mis amigos": Take care, my friends.