Barry Michael Paquette

Born February 2, 1943, Barry spent his childhood in both Utah and San Francisco, graduating from Riordon High School, San Francisco, in 1961. After a college recruiting trip to USC, Barry was impressed with both the school and the city of Los Angeles, resulting in the next chapter in his life. At USC, he enjoyed college life with his Theta Chi Fraternity brothers but also worked hard to attain a BS in Physics and shortly thereafter, an MBA.

In the late sixties after graduating from USC, Barry moved west to Manhattan Beach and fell in love with the beach lifestyle. At the same time, he began an Engineering career in Southern California’s burgeoning Aerospace and Defense Industry. Throughout his long career, he would work at Hughes Aircraft, TRW and Raytheon to name a few, with much of his work spent on projects related to the government’s Milstar Satellite program.

In the early seventies while living as a bachelor on 13th Street and the Strand, he would meet his soon to be wife, Tannie, who was living in the apartment upstairs with her fellow Pan Am airline stewardesses. Barry and Tannie hit it off immediately and soon married. They would go on to raise two kids, Michael and Colleen, in the American Martyrs School and Community to which they remained dedicated and attached to until their last years.

Living in their Sixties style A-framed beach house in the American Martyrs area of Manhattan Beach for 40 plus years, Barry and Tannie cherished family times and their kids’ school/sporting events. They took annual family vacations to Hawaii, hitting most of the island, but more often visited their favorite place of Napili Shores, Maui and enjoyed many skiing trips to Mammoth and June Mountain.

Barry loved the beach and would regularly meet with a group of friends during lunch breaks or on weekends to play beach volleyball at either El Porto or near 8th Street in Manhattan. During the early 2000s, he played in CVBA Beach Volleyball tournaments with his son Michael with his wife Tannie cheering from the sidelines!

Barry was an avid outdoor enthusiast and taking yearly 3–4-day camping and hiking trips in the Sierras throughout his entire life. In the Fall of 2013 at the age of 70 he successfully reached the summit of Mount Whitney with his daughter, Colleen and son Michael!

Later in life, Barry enjoyed continuous visits from his grandkids, laughing as his grandsons would wrestle in his living room and he also enjoyed trips to San Diego to watch his granddaughter’s ballet performances.

In addition to enjoying grandkids, Barry took on the awesome responsibility of sole caregiver for his wife Tannie towards the last several years of her life, a true testament to the wedding vows he took at American Martyrs Church in 1973.

Barry is survived by his children Michael and Colleen, grandchildren Ava, Aaron, Dean and his sister Jeanne and her six children.

A memorial service followed by a reception will be held July 26th 10am at American Martyrs Church.