Morgan Ridgway Barker

Morgan Ridgway Barker, Beloved Father, Grandfather and Husband, Dies at 89 A man of many and continually growing interests, Morgan was born on November 7, 1932 in Norristown, PA, son of Helen Catherine Pennington and George Sands Barker. He attended Fairfield Preparatory School, in Fairfield, CT, while his father served in the US Navy, The Haverford School, in Haverford, PA, Class of 1950, and Cornell University, Class of 1955, where he received a BA in Economics. Morgan was owner and president of Barker Pipe Fittings Co., located in Norristown, and Penflex Corp., located in Exton PA, until his retirement in 1997. Among his many interests, Morgan was a passionate sailor, often sailing with his life-long friend from The Haverford School, William G. Warden, III. In addition to cruising the East Coast from Halifax to St. Thomas, he also received of a number of prestigious sailing awards, including in the Cape May-Newport, Annapolis-Newport and Newport-Bermuda races and 1986 Rolex Swan Atlantic Regatta. Morgan was also a member of The Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia (Commodore 1982-1984), The New York Yacht Club and The Cruising Club of America (most recently, a member of the San Francisco Station). Morgan was an accomplished singer, as a member of the Glee Club at both Haverford and Cornell and also for a time as a member of an a cappella group based in Philadelphia, PA, played the ukulele and had strong interest in the opera. In addition to his sailing and musical interests, Morgan also served a member of the Board of Trustees of The Haverford School (1974-1980), was a long-standing member of The Rotary Club of Norristown and, like his father (who was in the US Air Corps in the Great War), was a licensed pilot. In 2004, he wed Diane Hutson-Wiley and, in 2006, re-located to the San Francisco area, residing most recently in Sausalito, CA where he continued to enjoy sailing and took on new interests, in particular becoming passionate about his role as volunteer math tutor to elementary and middle school students in several local public schools. Morgan took great pleasure in his personal relationships with both the young and the not-so-young, some of which lasted more than 50 years and encompassed many of his extended family members, and enjoyed travel both near and far and also back in time through a deep interest in genealogy. Morgan was loved by his family and will be deeply missed. He is predeceased by his siblings, Joseph, Mary and Lettice, and his half-brother George. He is survived by his wife, the former Diane Hutson-Wiley of Sausalito, CA, and his sons from his prior marriage with Carol Munro, Morgan R. Barker, Jr of Rowayton, CT, Robert P. Barker of Bryn Mawr, PA and Nathaniel S. Barker of Houston, TX. Morgan is also survived by: his step-children, Thomas W. Hutson-Wiley of Mill Valley, CA, Anne S. Colasanto of Mill Valley, CA and Catherine M. Abecassis of Cascais, Portugal; sister-in-law Elizabeth W. Barker and her 2 daughters, niece Molly P. Fletcher and her 2 sons and nephew Charles S. Pickles; and 10 grandchildren, 6 step-grandchildren and one great-grandson.