John William "Bill" Barrett

John William "Bill" Barrett

John William "Bill" Barrett, 76, passed away peacefully on April 11, 2008. He will be missed by daughters, Deed, T hea, and Holly; sons-in-law, Mike and John; grandchildren, Ben, Samantha, Amy, and Jack; numerous cousins, nieces, nephews and many friends.
Bill was preceded in death by his wife, Frances Patricia "Pat" (Rodman) Barrett in 2007.
Bill was born in Spokane, Washington, the son of Jack and Pearl Barrett, younger brother of Jacqueline "Jackie" (Barrett) Martin. He grew up in many locations in the Pacific Northwest as his father was assigned to different work locations with Western Electric. The family spent time during the Great Depression at Lake Retreat in south King County and this time influenced Bill's life long love of nature and the outdoors. Following the years at the lake, the family moved to Portland, Oregon and Bill attended Hosford Middle School and graduated from Washington High School. During these years, Bill was actively involved in Boy Scouts of America and was one of the youngest scouts in the state to earn his Eagle in 1945.
Bill attended Oregon State University, earning a bachelors degree in fisheries and wildlife management in 1953. Bill was a member of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity at OSU and made many life long friendships with his fraternity brothers. While attending OSU, Bill met Pat, they wed in 1956 and celebrated their golden anniversary in 2006.
Bill worked for Union Oil of California for 35 years and enjoyed traveling throughout the area for his work, especially trips to Alaska, Montana and Idaho, as well as trips closer to home in Oregon and Washington.
Even though Bill spent many weeks on the road for his career he shared his love of the outdoors, sports and travel with his family.
Many great memories were made during ski trips, camping trips and trips to see family in Eastern Washington and Hawaii. Bill taught each of his girls to ski and always encouraged them to go for "just one more run". He taught all his girls how to fish and shared his love of birds with them also. Bill also shared his love of games that were enjoyed over many evenings around the dining room table playing "21", Tripoli, Yahtzee and poker. He enjoyed watching sports on TV and supporting his daughters and his grandchildren in their sports and activities over the years. Bill was an avid reader which he again passed on to his family and there was hardly ever a time that someone didn't have their nose in a book around our home.
In retirement, Bill and Pat enjoyed travel, making a yearly trip to the Ashland Shakespeare Festival joining college friends to enjoy the plays and the company. Many family gatherings were centered on great meals that Dad enjoyed preparing as he found a new interest in cooking. Over the years Bill enjoyed the family pets and his love for animals was passed on to his children.
The family would like to thank our many friends for their kind thoughts during Dad's illness. We would also like to extend our deep gratitude for all the support given to Bill during this time from Puget Sound Cancer Center, Visiting Angels and Providence Visiting Nurse Services.
Per Dad's request, there will not be a public service.
In lieu of flowers, the family hopes you would consider a donation to the American Cancer Society, the Seattle Audubon Society or Boy Scouts of America.