Charles Barrett

Charles Gresham Barrett passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family at his home at Barrett's Retreat in the Bachelors Retreat Community of Westminster, on Friday, Jan. 21, 2005.

Mr. Barrett - or Mr. Charles, Charlie, or Mr. B - as he was often called by his many friends and business associates and customers, would have been 89 on February 16th. He was born and raised in Westminster and graduated from Westminster High School. Mr. Barrett spent his entire life in his hometown as business owner and entrepreneur. He volunteered for service in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II, where he served two years in Italy and France and in Germany after the armistice. He returned to Westminster after the war, where he and his bride Del Ayers of Atlanta, Ga., began their life together.

Charlie built their first home himself just off of Highway 123 in Westminster and used his radio repair skills, honed during his service to his country, to start his own radio repair shop in 1945. He later expanded that business, mortgaging his home to purchase the existing Western Auto Store, which he was able to pay for by working nights repairing radios sent to him from throughout the southeast. He later grew his business with the help of his brother Frank into Barrett Brothers, which was the forerunner of Barrett's Hardware, now located on Main Street in Westminster.

He also founded the Army Navy Store, which his brother later developed into Dads, Lads & Lassies in Westminster. And in 1961, he founded Barrett & Sons Furniture on Windsor Street, then expanded that operation to become Barrett & Sons Furniture and Real Estate. Until his illness in early December of 2004, Mr. Barrett continued to operate his Used Furniture and Real Estate operations on Main Street in Westminster, bringing the total of the years as a fixture in the Westminster business community to fifty-seven.

In 1951, Mr. Charles started Boy Scout Troop 108, for which he served as Scoutmaster for twelve years and which was the first Boy Scout organization in Westminster. He sought contributions from many of his suppliers in his hardware store to obtain the funds to build the first scout hut in Westminster. One of the service projects of his troop was to raise the American Flag over the Westminster Post Office.

In 1965, Mr. Charles and Miss Del bought the property at Bachelor's Retreat on South Retreat Road in Westminster. It was their goal to restore the original post office, which was used before and during the Civil War, as well as the original slave kitchen on the property. As part of the renovation process, they moved and restored the original 1700's era log cabin on the property, then restored the front structure of the cabin, which had been built in the 1850s, to serve as the main structure for the home they shared for 38 years.

After a decade of writing regular columns for The Westminster News, Mr. Charles published a collection of his stories, essays and poems in his book, "True Stories of the Old South." As a product of the Depression who helped support his family during the 1930s, Mr. Charles wanted to leave a legacy of information to his fellow citizens of a different time that shaped his life and compelled him to live his life to the fullest. He leaves many faithful readers of his column, who will miss his insights into daily life in days gone by.

Mr. Barrett was a past member of the Oconee County Selective Service Board, the County Tax Assessor's Board, and served as President of the Oconee Historical Society. Mr. Barrett has received awards from the Westminster Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, and Lions Club for his service to the business community.

Mr. Charles felt strongly that he should share with others his philosophy of life, which is based on hard work and determination. He recently told his family that he considered his personal gifts and talents not to be intelligence, though those who knew him know he possessed it, but diligence and perseverance. Nor, he said, did he conduct his life's work for financial gain or ambition, but only to fulfill the obligations he felt were his destiny for himself, his family and his fellow man.

Mr. Charles was a man of many interests, hobbies and talents. He was a beekeeper and gardener, an avid fisherman and hunter in his early life, and a student of nature. He served as mentor to numerous young men in the area who worked for him over the years in his businesses or were members of his Boy Scout Troop. The last third of his life was devoted to salvaging and restoring old homes in the Westminster community, and even his family members have no way of knowing how many homes he has saved by repairing and reworking them for the benefit of his community.

The Barrett family wishes to thank the many friends, neighbors, business associates and customers of their patriarch for the cards, letters and expressions of love and concern which they showered on Mr. Charles and on them in the last few weeks. The outpouring of love and appreciation from hundreds of individuals has overwhelmed the family, and those many expressions of caring were a source of pride, comfort and appreciation to Mr. Charles before his passing.

The fourth of eight children of the late Bessie Ross and James Edward Barrett, he is survived by his wife, Del; his two sons, Charles Lee Barrett and daughter-in-law Joyce Jones Barrett and U.S. Congressman James Gresham Barrett and Natalie Finley Barrett of Westminster. He is also survived by three daughters, Margaret Anne Barrett Hopper of Westminster, Katherine Barrett Maxwell and son-in-law Michael Jones Maxwell of Atlanta, Ga., and Cassandra Del Barrett of Santa Clarita, Calif.; as well as seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Mr. Barrett was preceded in death by two brothers, William Ross Barrett of Columbia and Winston-Salem, N.C., and Benjamin Frank Barrett of Westminster; and a sister, Miss Grace Barrett of Westminster. He is survived by brother, Victor Elmore Barrett of Boynton Beach, Fla., and Cashiers, N.C.; sisters, Mrs. Helen Barker Petty of Walhalla, Mrs. Ruth Graver of Boynton Beach, Fla., and Mrs. Jessica Lohse Adams of Clemson.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. tonight, Jan. 22, 2005, at Sandifer Funeral Home in Westminster. The funeral and burial will be a private service for family members only at Hopewell United Methodist Church. The family is at the residence. Flowers are accepted. A message of condolence may be sent to the family by visiting www.sandiferfuneralhome.com

Sandifer Funeral Home, Westminster, is in charge of arrangements.