In loving memory of Richard Barry - Obituary Baldwin Brothers

Obituary

Lady Lake, FL – Richard Barry loved golf, sports, animals, and his wife and children most of all. He died peacefully at home on Sunday, February 13, 2022. Richard was 87.

Richard Joseph Barry, lovingly known to friends and family as ‘Dick’ was born August 5, 1934, in Worcester, MA and a son of the late Joseph George Barry and Margaret Mary (Cashin) Barry.

Dick grew up in Worcester, MA and when he was just 16 years old, met the love of his life at a dance also in Worcester. In 1953, he married his love, Anna D’Errico, of Shrewsbury, MA, and they went on to spend 68 years together. The two of them raised three wonderful children, Richard Jr., Joseph, and Dawn. Dick and Anna moved to Standish, ME in 1979 and spent several years there enjoying the ocean, beaches, country dancing and many friends. Dick was an outdoorsman, who loved to quahog and clam in Rhode Island, camp in RI and ME, fish (fresh water – fly or with a bobber/lure – and salt water – off the pier or deep sea), garden, and also hunt pheasant and deer. Hunting deer was all well and good until Anna saw the first deer hanging from a tree in the backyard. After that, fishing and gardening were a more popular decision for Dick.

In 2002, they retired to The Villages in Lady Lake, FL, where Dick spent time golfing several times a week, spending leisurely time with Anna, and hanging with his golf buddies in the clubhouse. He always made coffee for the guys at the clubhouse before his early-bird tee time and spent time ‘shooting the breeze’ before and after each round. Dick had a series of favorite phrases that were a hit with ‘his cronies and those old-timers.’ Dick would not want us to forget to mention his very proud ‘4 holes in one!’ he accomplished through the years.

Dick loved to laugh and always had a smile on his face and one-liners for everyone. Making people laugh was his mission in life and other than his family, it was his greatest and most memorable accomplishment. He was funny, quick, witty and was almost too good with the zingers. Dick very well may have coined the concept of telling a joke “Too soon?”- for which you could tell he was immensely proud. Dick was always the one laughing hardest at his own jokes…the kind of laughter where he could not catch his breath and had tears of laughter and, at times, couldn’t even get the rest of the joke out, which only made his jokes and one-liners so much better.

Dick was also quiet, gentle, caring and very generous. There wasn’t a time when Dick wouldn’t bring homemade treats or snacks to a neighbor to share the joy. He always enjoyed befriending neighbors and swapping stories and experiences while, in his younger years, many a backyard pool, sandbox, and swing-sets were a shared neighborhood project.

Dick was an amazing father and grandfather. He lovingly would go look for some of his old trinkets and give them out to his kids or grandkids. Dick didn’t always have the loudest voice in the room but when he spoke, the stories were endless and priceless. Along with the life lessons he taught his own children, he made sure his grandchildren knew that laughter and lightness – even when not always appropriate in the conventional sense – would often carry them through the toughest of times. Dick never needed a reason to laugh or smile – it was just who he was.

Through the years he attended concerts and plays, sporting events, graduations, and any ceremonies that his family was a part of. He especially enjoyed the title of Grampy that was lovingly bestowed upon him by his six grandchildren Andrew, Keith, Connor, Jay, Reed and Matthew, and his two great-grandchildren Elizabeth and Charlotte. His grandchildren always enjoyed spending guaranteed fun times with Grampy.

Dick taught his kids how to bait a fishing hook, cast a spinning reel, and fillet the fish caught as well as how to throw, field, catch and hit a baseball. His daughter lovingly remembers how he would make sure she knew how to throw a baseball “like a boy” so she could be better than them. Dick was a very hard worker but always found time to umpire baseball and softball games when his kids were young.

Dick was a talented wood craftsman and for years contributed several of his items to the annual Christmas fair at St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Gorham, ME. He also blessed his family with many wooden crafts and special items he created. Dick loved playing cards and was a very strong cribbage player for many years. When Dick was not reading through golf magazines, he was an avid reader of mystery and espionage novels. Dick never met a recliner he didn’t like.

Dick could often be found sitting outside greeting neighbors and friends that walked by. He was grateful and thankful for his time on earth. He and his wife, Anna, attended the formal Dedication and Blessing of the Grotto (St. Mark The Evangelist Roman Catholic Church) on Sunday, February 10, 2019, and purchased a Family Brick to be included in its walkway.

Dick held a few positions throughout his life as a as Tap, Tool and Die Manager at Parker Metal Corp (Worcester, MA) and Henry L. Hanson (MA and ME) and retired in 2000. He also served in the Army National Guard from 1949 – 1952. During his time in Massachusetts with his young family, he also worked as a part-time cameraman for Channel 24 and excitedly filmed local high school and college ice hockey games along with his two sons.

Along with his parents, Dick is recently predeceased by his loving wife of 68 years, Anna (D’Errico) Barry.

Dick is survived by their children Richard Barry Jr. (Caroline), Joseph Barry, and Dawn Knight (Edward Fertig), six grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

True to Dick’s love of his wife, he left this earth to be with her for Valentine’s Day. His smile, laugh, catch-phrases, stories, inappropriate jokes, and one-liners must be making the angels blush. He and his bride are together again.

In death Dick joins his brother, Francis N. Barry.

There will be a private blessing for Dick at St. Mark The Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Summerfield, FL 34491.

At a later date, family and friends will honor, remember and celebrate Dick and Anna’s lives by gathering at Saint Anne’s Roman Catholic Church, 130 Boston Turnpike, Shrewsbury, MA 01545 where their Funeral Mass will be celebrated. Burial will be in Mountain View Cemetery also in Shrewsbury, MA.

In lieu of flowers and sympathy, please consider a Memorial to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This charity was an especially important part of Dick and Anna’s life.