Carl E. Barrie

0

Carl Ephraimson Barrie died on June 30, 2014. He was 91.

Carl was born in Natick, Rhode Island, on April 28, 1923, to James and Anna Victoria Barrie and grew up in Cranston, Rhode Island, graduating from Cranston High School in 1941. He served in the Army Air Corps as a Communications Officer achieving the rank of First Lieutenant, and trained at a number of locations in the U.S. After D-Day and the liberation of France he served as Communications Director and Traffic Controller at the allied air base in Cherbourg, France, and as traffic controller at Orly Air Base in Paris. After he was discharged in 1946 he enrolled in the University of Rhode Island, earning a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1948. He never pursued a career as an electrical engineer choosing instead to enter the field of sales management at General Electric. This was at the beginning of the electronic age, and he first sold the tubes that powered television sets and other nascent electronic products. Eventually he entered the emerging field of semi-conductors, the principal components of early computers. He retired from General Electric in 1985 after working for the company for 37 years. He finished his sales career working as a regional rep for a number of electronic supply firms in the Boston area, retiring in his mid-seventies.

He met his wife Eleanor when they were both in their teens. They were married in 1947 at the Central Congregational Church in Providence, R.I., and enjoyed a devoted union of 67 years. The first part of their married life was spent in Schenectady, N.Y., where their first son, Jeffrey, was born. A transfer to the Boston area brought the family first to Hingham and then Cohasset, where their second son, Thomas, was born. They lived there over 16 years, and were members of the First Parish Unitarian Church and active in the community, making lifelong friends. A transfer brought the family to Pottersville, N.J., for nine years, and one in 1978 brought them back to Massachusetts where they lived in Marshfield Hills until 2002 and Plymouth until 2004. They built a vacation house at Mink Meadows Golf Course in the 1970s, and in 2004 moved there full-time.

Early in his life he discovered a love of nature and the mountains, which lives on in his two sons and three grandchildren. The family spent many winters skiing, and summers hiking, camping and fishing in the White Mountains. He also loved to sail and for many years kept a boat named Fred in Tashmoo. He was an aficionado of classical music and opera, and played the piano for most of his life. He had a special passion for golf and continued to play into his 91st year. He and Eleanor traveled to Scotland numerous times to play its classic courses, but he retained a special affection for the course at Mink Meadows Golf Club, where he was a member.

He gave of himself generously to the community, as a volunteer, coach and leader. He was president of The White Mules Ski Club in North Conway, N.H., in the early 1970s, and served as President of the Mink Meadows Association and the first president of Mink Meadows Golf Club from 1987 to 1995. Under his leadership many improvements were made to the course including a new irrigation system. He was known for his inquisitiveness, love of knowledge, sense of humor, and ready smile.

He is survived by his wife, Eleanor, sister, Hope, son Jeffrey and his wife, Kathryn, and grandson Andrew, son Tom and his wife, Lisa, and grandsons Ian and Simon. His younger brother, James, predeceased him.

A memorial service will be held at Mink Meadows Golf Club on Monday, August 11, at 5:30 pm.