Paul Owens Barrett, 72, of Shediac, passed away on Thursday, July 27, 2017 at the Moncton Hospital. Born in Saint John, he was a retired accountant and a retired RCMP auxiliary member.
He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Brenda (Constable), son Mark (Juliette), and daughter Paula; two brothers: Michael (Lynn) of Embrum ON, and Brian (Cathy) of Windsor ON, and four sisters: Hillary (Pat) Doyle of Welland ON, Monica Barrett-Johnson of Langley BC, Barbara (Brian) Power of Markham ON, and Christina of Kentville NS.
He was predeceased by his parents Thomas and Eileen (Byrne) Barrett and older brother Patrick.
A Memory-Sharing Celebration of his life will be held at Frenette Funeral and Cremation Centre, 396 Main Street, Shediac on Wednesday August 2nd from 6 pm to 9 pm. Burial on Thursday August 3rd at Fair Haven.
Those who so wishing may make donations to the Canadian Diabetes Association or to the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation, or a charity of their choice.
Paul Owens Barrett was born in Saint John on October 4, 1944 to Thomas and Eileen Byrne Barrett. He would become the third oldest of eight children. He graduated from Simonds High School in 1962 and immediately moved to Moncton to join its workforce. He was a registered Industrial Accountant and made a career serving as a business consultant for many companies.
Paul married Brenda Constable in 1966 and they had two children, Mark and Paula. When the children became schoolaged, the family moved to Shediac. Paul wanted his kids to become bilingual, and he felt the quickest way to achieve that was to totally plunge them into French-immersed surroundings. "Sink or swim", he told them, and within three months they were swimming just fine!
Paul was a man of good principles. He believed if you lived
in a community, you should support that community and so he bought his
groceries and had his car repairs done there. He also believed in
being active in the community in which he lived. During the
1970’s, Paul volunteered as a coach of Shediac Minor Hockey.
In that role, he was proud to have been among the first to have
enrolled a girl in a Minor Hockey boys team. He simply saw the
situation as a group of kids who just wanted to have some fun.
"What did gender have to do with it?" he would say.
Paul served for many years on the executive of the Shediac Riding
Liberal Association. He was especially proud to have served for 24
years as an Auxiliary Member of the RCMP.
Paul was proud of his Irish descent, and enjoyed the tour of Ireland he and Brenda took in 1977. He is also probably the only tourist to vacation on the beaches of Hawaii, and to return home as white-skinned as when he left! Paul’s skin just did not tan!
Due to increasing health issues, Paul took early retirement in 2001 and started taking life at a much slower pace. He made his daily trip to the post office and Tim Horton’s, and at least twice a day, he and his four-legged companion, Venus, could be found on the side streets near the house. It’s still up for debate as to who was exercising whom with those walks!
Paul spent many summer weekends at the cottage on the lake at Cambridge-Narrows, enjoying the peaceful surroundings. He was an avid reader, especially of old books with a historical theme.
Life changed dramatically for Paul with a massive stroke in 2008, which affected his balance, his vision, and his short-term memory. These were further diminished with yet another heart attack in the Spring of this year. Despite these health set-backs, Paul maintained a positive outlook, often telling anyone who asked, "I’ve never lost any sleep worrying about it."
Such was Paul’s positive outlook on life!
What will we remember about Paul?
Yes, fresh in our minds are the health complications that physically ravaged his body in his final months. But as time passes and each of us thinks back on his 70-plus years, we will undoubtedly remember his better times and the traits that made Paul Owens Barrett the man that he was.
His brothers and sisters will remember him as the loving, caring brother who could provide merciless teasing when they didn’t want it, and provide good solid advice when they did.
His wife will remember his faithfulness, as well as the imparting of the little idiosyncrasies that made Paul who he was.
His children will remember how undeniably proud he was of them and of their accomplishments.
His in-laws will remember "Mr. B." for his perfectly-barbequed steaks, his "Boss" Caesar Salads, and the many games of darts, cribbage, and Auction-45 card games, at which he’d usually win.
His friends will remember him as someone with whom they could share a laugh, a wine, and an opinion. Oh my, if anyone was willing to listen, Paul had no shortage of opinions!
Whatever our relationship with Paul, we have to admit it was a unique experience knowing him. There will never be another one like Paul, and for that reason alone, may each of us forever cherish our fond memories of him.
Cremation and funeral arrangements are under the direction of Frenette Funeral and Cremation Centre, Shediac (532-3297).
Words of comfort and online condolences may be forwarded through our website at: