Obituary: James J. Barry Jr., 89, of Guilford

Obituary courtesy of the Guilford Funeral Home.

James J. Barry Jr., long time resident of Guilford, died peacefully at home on Monday May 4 at age 89. He was the husband of the late Deborah St John Barry.

Born August 29, 1930 in Meriden, he was the son of the late James J. Barry and Leokadia Kraszewski Barry. He was predeceased by his first wife Janet Sabrosky Barry. Father of Kyle Barry of Wallingford, Michael Barry and his wife Wendy of Guilford, Steven Barry of Essex, and Meghan McGuire and her husband Brian of Madison. He is also survived by his sister Patricia Prestipino of Southington and his seven grandchildren Daniel, Kate, Trevor, Tessa, Adelia, William, and Finnean.

His undergraduate education was at the University of Connecticut. He attended graduate programs at Michigan State University, Dartmouth College and the Harvard Business School.

Jim was a veteran of the Korean War serving as an infantry officer in the 25th Division in Korea and Hawaii. He also served in the Connecticut National Guard and the U.S. Army active reserve.

He worked for S.N.E.T. Co. for 39 years in sales and marketing positions. Jim had enjoyed spending time in Guilford since 1945 and finally moved there in 1983. He loved learning new things and meeting new people. He stayed active volunteering in many town and state organizations including serving as Chairman of the Guilford Planning and Zoning Commission and the South Central Connecticut Regional Planning Commission. After retiring, he became a voting machine mechanic and spent many good times down at the garage repairing and maintaining Guilford’s voting machines.

Jim had a love of nature and the outdoors, inspired by his father, which he instilled in his children and grandchildren. An avid fisherman and fly tyer, he was a proud member of the Madison Rod and Gun Club where he made many lasting friendships. Jim will be greatly missed by his family and the friends whose lives he impacted so positively.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Guilford Land Conservation Trust, guilfordlandtrust.org