William Riker Barrett ’38

Bill Barrett died of emphysema Aug. 1, 1996, at his home in Belleair, Fla. He prepared at Choate School. At Princeton he majored in geology and was a member of Cottage Club, the freshman football and hockey teams, and the varsity hockey team. Bill roomed with Chris Meyer, Chapin Lawson, John Deupree, and Crawford Pogue. "Crawf" said of Bill, "I lucked out. Bill was a perfect roommate; a gentleman, good-humored, intelligent, practical, and a good friend." Bill's father was Class of '08 and his brother, Hugh C., was Class of '37.

He was a captain and B-26 bomber pilot in the Army Air Corps, completing 50 combat missions in Africa and Italy and earning the Purple Heart and the Air Medal with 10 Clusters.

Bill worked for American Bank Note Co. after the war, and was president for the 11 years preceding his retirement. He also served on the boards of several charitable institutions, including United Crusade and the Red Cross. He was a trustee of Muhlenburg Hospital in Plainfield, N.J.

In 1940 Bill married Peggy Wells, who was the mother of his sons, Bill Jr. '66, Pete, and Tony, and his daughter, Brucie. In 1980 Bill married Bert Ruskin, and they moved to Belleair, where Bill became an avid golfer and a director of the Belleair Country Club.

We have lost an outstanding member of our class and all of us wish to express our deepest sympathy to his widow, Bert, his children, his two grandchildren, and his brother, Hugh.

The Class of 1938