Oklahoma Cemeteries Website
butterfly
image
Click here to break out of frames
This information is available for free. If you paid money for a
subscription to get to this site, demand a refund.
For any questions pertaining to an individual cemetery, you would need to contact the cemetery sexton / board / caretaker.

Willis Robert "Bill" Barrett
Sep 16, 1925 - Sep 15, 2018
Posted by: Ann Weber

DAVIS FAMILY FUNERAL HOME
DEWEY, WASHINGTON CO, OK
(permission granted)

Willis “Bill” Robert Barrett of Bartlesville, OK, passed away on Sept.15, 2018, at the age of 92.

Bill was born in McPherson, KS, to Galen and Mary (Russel) Barrett on Sept. 16, 1925. He grew up on the family dairy farm, graduating from McPherson High School in 1943. He enlisted in the Navy, serving as an ensign and airplane navigator during WW II. Upon returning, he attended Kansas State University, graduating in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. He then began a long career with Phillips Petroleum, first stationed at Borger, TX. He moved to Bartlesville in 1951. There, he met his future wife and love of his live, Wanda Beth Hunter, of Nowata, OK. They were married on April 9, 1955, in the bride’s hometown.

In the early 1950s, Bill took a leave of absence to attend Harvard Business School in Boston, MA, graduating with an MBA degree in 1954. Returning to Bartlesville, he continued to work for Phillips and its plastics-focused subsidiaries Sealright and Phillips Products, serving stints in Providence, RI, Fulton, NY, Overland Park, KS, Hopkinsville, KY, and Elgin, IL. He subsequently led a buy-out of Phillips Products in 1982, becoming CEO of Duraco, which manufactured mainly plastic flower pots. He led Duraco until his retirement in 1992, continuing to serve as chairman of the board until 1999. He and his wife Beth returned to Bartlesville in 1997.

Both Bill and Beth were devout Christians showing great generosity and integrity, and were dedicated servants in the Baptist church wherever they lived, especially for over 20 years at the First Baptist Church of Elgin, IL. Bill was also active in and served on the Board of Directors of Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, YMCA and United Way while in Elgin. He was a member of the First Baptist Church of Bartlesville at the time of his death.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers Lawrence Barrett and Russel Barrett and sisters Elizabeth Barrett and Marian (Barrett) Olson.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, his sisters Dorothy Gail (Barrett) Caflisch and Patricia (Barrett) Gibson, as well as his children: Martha (Gunn) Brown and husband Steve of Lowell, AR; Bradley Barrett and wife Mary of Neodesha, KS; Kirk Barrett and wife Margaret McBrien of South Orange, NJ; and Rebecca (Barrett) Wisser and husband Rick of Conover, NC.

In addition, Bill and Beth took many foster children into their home over the decades and continued to consider many of them family, including Andre Hernandez and wife Jennifer of California. Bill is also survived by 9 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.

Bill’s family will receive friends on Wednesday, Sept. 19, from 6-8 p.m. at Davis Family Funeral Home – Walker Brown Chapel, 918-333-7665, 4201 Nowata Rd, Bartlesville. Visitation will also be held on Wednesday from 10-8 and Thursday 9-11. In lieu of flowers memorials may be given to Oklahoma Baptist Home for Children, 3800 N. May Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73112-6506 or www.obhc.org

Funeral services will be held 2 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 20, at the First Baptist Church, 405 S Cherokee Ave, Bartlesville, with Rev. Tom Cox officiating. Services are under the direction of Carter Davis and the Davis Family Funeral Home – Walker Brown Chapel.

Online condolences and remembrances may be shared at www.DavisFamilyFuneralHome.com.
 
Cemetery Details

Memorial Park Cemetery Bartlesville 4200 Nowata Road
Bartlesville, OK, 74006  

flag


Thank You For Your Service!

|Memorial Park Cemetery |  |Washington County Cemeteries|  |Home|



This site may be freely linked, but not duplicated in any way without consent.
All rights reserved! Commercial use of material within this site is prohibited!
© 2000-2024 Oklahoma Cemeteries

The information on this site is provided free for the purpose of researching your genealogy. This material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, for your own research, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The information contained in this site may not be copied to any other site without written "snail-mail" permission. If you wish to have a copy of a donor's material, you must have their permission. All information found on these pages is under copyright of Oklahoma Cemeteries. This is to protect any and all information donated. The original submitter or source of the information will retain their copyright. Unless otherwise stated, any donated material is given to Oklahoma Cemeteries to make it available online. This material will always be available at no cost, it will always remain free to the researcher.