Mason Barrett

1912 - 2017

Barrett, Mason
Ophelia Mason Daniel Barrett (Mason), a longtime Greenwich resident, died in her sleep at age 104 on February 3, 2017. She was born in Jacksonville, Florida on December 4, 1912. She was predeceased by her husband, Edward Ware Barrett, and by her brother, Jaquelin James Daniel.
Mason was the daughter of Mary Goff Palmer Daniel and Richard Potts Daniel. She attended Jacksonville schools as well as National Cathedral School and Sweet Briar College. After re-turning home to Jacksonville, she proudly worked as a draftsman for the phone company. In 1939 she married Edward W. Barrett, former Dean of the Columbia Graduate School of Journal-ism, founder of the Columbia Journalism Review, and a former Assistant Secretary of State in the Truman administration. They lived in New York City and Washington, D.C. before settling in Greenwich CT in 1952. Mrs. Barrett was a longtime member of Green Fingers Garden Club and served as its President and as a judge for Garden Club of America. She was an expert gar-dener and prizewinning creator of abstract flower arrangements. She was a lifelong member of Christ Church Greenwich and served on its Vestry. She was a former Chair of the Greenwich Red Cross Gray Ladies, a longtime member of Round Hill Club, and was for years an avid golfer. Mason was a brilliant bridge player and loved playing bridge on Monday afternoons with her friends. She was a member of the National Society of the Colonial Dames in the State of Florida, She brought her high spirits and determined attitude to everything she did. She was always perfectly coiffed, beautifully dressed, and wore high heels long into her senior years. She enjoyed a dry martini before dinner every night of her life until her seventies, when she changed her cocktail to Jack Daniel's bourbon. She had several dogs she adored. Mason's travels took her to Western and Eastern Europe, to many nations in Asia and the Americas, to Africa and Australia, and to the Galapagos Islands.
Mason is survived by her daughters, Lisa Barrett and Margo Barrett, both of Huntington, Ver-mont, by her sister,Mary Palmer Daniel Thompson, of Nashville, TN, and by her nieces, Eleanor Daniel Colledge, Jaquelin Daniel Cook, Ophelia Thompson Paine, Allison Thompson, Emily Thompson James, and by her nephew, Overton Thompson III.
A memorial service will be held Wednesday, March 29, at 3:00 p.m. in the Chapel at Christ Church Greenwich, 254 E. Putnam Ave, Greenwich, CT 06830. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Christ Church Greenwich, 254 East Putnam Ave, Greenwich CT 06830, or to Daniel Memorial, 4203 Southpoint Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32216.