April 22, 1925 – October 29, 2021
John H. Barrett, Jr., formerly of Reading, died on October 29 at age 96, at Newfield House in Plymouth with his family at his side. He was the cherished husband of Mary Kathryn (Toomey) Barrett, his beloved “Kay,” to whom he was married for 76 years.
Known to his family and friends as Jack, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1945. After graduating, he served as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy with the 103rd Naval Construction Battalion (Seabees) on Guam, as well as in Boston, Brooklyn NY, Camden AR and Bethesda MD. In 1954, having risen to the rank of lieutenant, he left the Navy to work at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, before beginning his 25-year career with the consulting engineering firm of Chas. T. Main in Boston.
As Group Vice President and the first Chief Operating Officer of Chas. T. Main’s International Division, Jack established regional offices in Central and South America, the Middle East, and Africa. He eventually traveled to 37 countries, often accompanied by Kay. During this period, he also attended and graduated from Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.
After leaving Chas. T. Main in 1981, he served as president of the structural engineering firm of LeMessurier Consultants in Boston. For 20 years, he also was an arbitrator of construction disputes for the American Arbitration Association and the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs. In 1989, Jack was elected to the College of Fellows by the American Consulting Engineers Council in recognition of his contributions to the profession.
In his spare time, Jack loved to ski. He also was an ingenious woodworker, constantly enhancing the charming old home on Reading’s Summer Avenue, where he and Kay lived for 60 years. Whatever Kay could envision, he could build, from gorgeous mantels to crown mouldings to the stately white fence that edged their front yard.
Jack and his wife Kay, who survives him, had ten children, who were their pride and joy. His beloved youngest child and namesake, John H. Barrett III, husband of Hayley (Dalton) Barrett of Reading, died of lung cancer on August 11, 2021. Jack’s nine other children survive him: Dr. Kathleen Leslie and her husband Sanford of Plymouth; State Senator Michael Barrett and his wife Nancy Dolberg of Lexington; Mary Barrett Fraser and her husband Arthur of Reading and Wellfleet; Susan Kalmakis and her husband George of Gloucester; James Barrett and his wife Susan of Hoboken NJ; Stephen Barrett and his wife Margie of Union City NJ; Anne Barrett Doyle and her husband William of Boston; Thomas Barrett and his wife Colleen of Rockport; and Christina Barrett Asbell and her husband Robert of Kennebunk ME. Jack is also survived by his 30 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren, as well as his sister and brother-in-law, Carol and George LaPierre of Hudson, his sister-in-law, Mrs. Robert (Eleanor) Barrett of Lake Placid FL, and 20 nieces and nephews.
Jack’s family thanks the staff of Newfield House for showing him such superb care in his final years.
Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Jack’s memory to the Lungevity Foundation campaign in honor of his son John Barrett III. (To donate online, please use this link: https://lungevity.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.personalCampaign&participantID=64510#donate
