Richard W. Barrett

Richard William Barrett passed away on January 9, 2020 in Gardnerville, Nevada. Richard was born October 2, 1928 in Chicago, Illinois then moved with his family to farm in South Bend, Indiana. In the mid-forties, Richard enlisted in the United States Navy where he was stationed on a fuel tanker ship supporting the Pacific Fleet prior to the start of the Korean War. After his honorable discharge in 1949, he resided in Southern California where he met Ethelyn M. Hays. They married in 1950 and raised their 4 children in Thousand Oaks, California.

Mechanical engineering was Richard’s passion. His career spanned 19 years with Lockheed in the aerospace industry. In the mid-seventies, Richard was asked to partner in managing a dude ranch in Northern California. Richard returned in the mid-eighties to the engineering field in San Jose, California working for Worlds of Wonder Toy Company. He worked on the team that produced the first mechanical talking doll named Teddy Ruxpin and the popular Laser Tag game. He finished his engineering career with Apple Computer working on the first “portable” computer that we now call a laptop.

Richard and Ethelyn retired to Roseburg, Oregon and were very involved with the St. Joseph Catholic Church and Kitchen where they made meals for the hungry, along with many other volunteer activities. After 27 years in Roseburg, they moved to Gardnerville, Nevada to be closer to their family. His hobbies were many but his favorites were camping, fishing, boating, building model trains and radio controlled airplanes.

Richard is survived by his 4 children, Michael (Marcia) Barrett, Indianola, Washington, Bill (Tricia) Barrett, Denver, Colorado, Nancy (Monte) Williams, Clarks, Nebraska and Ellen (Mark) Bartolomucci, Gardnerville, Nevada. He was blessed with many grand and great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 67 years, Ethelyn, and his parents, Robert and Jewel Barrett.

In lieu of flowers, consider donating to the St. Joseph Church Kitchen in Roseburg, Oregon.