Michael R. Barrett

 Michael Ralph Barrett

Born: July 25, 1938 in Pinehurst, Moore County, North Carolina
Died: October 31, 2020 in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Michael Ralph Barrett 1938 – 2020

Michael Ralph Barrett (July 25, 1938 – October 31, 2020) was born in Pinehurst, Moore County, North Carolina where he spent a lot of his early life as well as many of his later years. His father, Myron Barrett, was a Golf Pro at the Pinehurst Resort for many years, as well as for several years at the Wheeling Country Club in West Virginia. His mother, Betty “B.B.” Barrett, was a talented artist, musician, and Jazz music aficionado. While living in West Virginia, he attended Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia, where he was a captain of his tennis team and member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He loved to tell the story about how he rode on horseback to open a new chapter of the fraternity elsewhere in the state. After college, he spent many years working primarily in the marketing, publishing, and the advertising arenas of business. While working in Chicago, he met Mary Barrett whom he was married to for 16 years and had three children together. They planted their roots in Yardley, Pennsylvania in 1976 where the three children were raised. He was born with a strong entrepreneurial spirit and was in business for himself at various times in his life including having his own advertising/publishing business “Barrett Associates” for several years in the old Buttonwood Barn in Yardley. Throughout his life, he was an avid birdwatcher and collector of decoys. No matter where he lived, he always had numerous bird feeders as he loved to identify, watch, and take care of the birds around him. After remaining in Bucks County for many years while his children were growing up, he eventually moved back down to North Carolina to care for his parents. In his later years while in North Carolina, he was extensively involved in researching the history of Moore County, North Carolina and the Barrett family ancestry, compiling troves of information on the history of the Barretts and of Moore County. He was particularly fascinated with the Revolutionary War and Civil War history as it pertained to the Barrett family ancestry and history of Moore County and hoped to publish books on the topics. In 2018, he moved back to Bucks County where he could be closer to his children. Michael was preceded in death by his parents, Myron and Betty Barrett, his sister, Jane Barrett Blocker, and brother, Lou Barrett. He is survived by his three children, Elizabeth “Liz” Maurer, Charles “Ryan” Barrett, and Dorothy Barrett Daddona, as well as his grandson, Nicholas Daddona.