Person Page - 1135

RALPH ANDREW BARRY
Herald Tribune Stamp Editor, Former Civil Engineer, Dies

Ralph Andrew Barry, stamp editor of The New York Herald Tribune, died yesterday at his home, 141-26 Northern Boulevard, Flushing, Queens, after an illness of six month. He was 56 years old.

Mr. Barry was born at Dover, Ohio, Nov. 30, 1883, and was graduated in 1906 from Princeton, where he studied to be a civil engineer. For many years he was a member of the engineering staff of the New York Central Railroad.

He became interested in the collecting of stamps as a hobby, and after retiring from engineering joined the staff of The Herald Tribune as a stamp editor in March, 1933. At a recent meeting of the American Philatelic Society at Atlantic City, N.J., he was elected dean of stamp writers, an honorary title.

Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Claudine Barry; a son, Alfred Barry, and a daughter, Kathryn Barry. Funeral services will be held today at 8:30 P.M. at the Fairchild Funeral Chapel in Flushing.⁵

BARRY. Alfred B. Barry, 72, of 30 Woodland St., Hartford, husband of Hedwig (Slomski) Barry, died Thursday (June 25) at home. Born in Bronx, N.Y., Sept. 25, 1914, he was the son of the late Ralph and Claudine (Plinney) Barry.

He attended Columbia University and was associated with the Utility Development Corp. in the construction business in Massachusetts and Connecticut. He was instrumental in the construction at the World's Fair in New York. He was a member of the Wethersfield Country Club.

Besides his wife, he leaves two daughters, Lynn Bardikis of Brooklyn Heights, N.Y., and Mrs. Jane Bahler of New York City; a sister, Katherine Keeler of Flushing, L.I., N.Y; and three grandchildren.

Funeral procession from the Ahern Funeral Home, 180 Farmington Ave., Hartford, will be today, 9:30 a.m., with services in the Cathedral of St. Joseph, 10 a.m. Burial will be in Mount St. Benedict Cemetery. Friends may call at the Ahern Funeral Home prior to the service.⁸

ORLEANS — Gwendolyn Parry (Heller) Hobbs, of Orleans, died Sept. 3, 2011, at the Orleans Convalescent Home. She was 92.

Glad to be of Welsh heritage, it seemed fitting that her birthday was on March 1, St. David's Day, the day for the patron saint of Wales. Mrs. Hobbs was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Hazel (Austin) and Frederick Godfrey Heller. She was the wife of Malcolm Hobbs, editor emeritus of The Cape Codder, and also of noted Orleans artist Vernon Smith, and of Alfred Barry, all of whom predeceased her.

Gwen spent her growing-up years in Bayside, N.Y., graduating in 1937 from Manhasset (NY) High School, where she was presented the coveted "Silver M," for all-around student leadership. She continued her studies at Stoneleigh College in Rye Beach, N.H.

Summering in East Orleans at her family's home in the 1930s led to permanent residency here a decade later. Very much part of the fabric of mid-century Orleans, she variously sold property through Nauset Real Estate, coached Orleans High School girls' championship basketball, ran a children's summer Beach School, acted in semi-professional plays and promoted the work of local artists, notably Vernon Smith's.

Subsequently, she joined the advertising staff of The Cape Codder. In time, she helped to create the paper's "Focus" feature, which brought into view the fascinating stories of residents and summer visitors, leaving a wonderful photographic legacy.

Stylish and inventive in all things, this was a woman with flair. With her interest in the culinary arts — she set a fine table — and fashion, landscape and interior design she decorated our lives. Even so, was she also the outdoorswoman; most of her life was spent near the water where sailing, fishing, collecting jingle shells, and enjoying bonfires on the beach all gave great pleasure and sense of place.

Travel also figured significantly in Gwen's life. Fortunate to be a daughter of the vice president of Bermuda Hotels Associated, she made many a trip to Bermuda and Britain. In later life, she and Malcolm Hobbs were privileged to join 19 other New England editors on a special People-to-People invitational tour in the fall of 1964, marking the first press trip to the Soviet Union after Stalin's death. But Rendezvous Bay on Anguilla was the travel destination she most savored. There, even in deepest winter, it could still be summer.

Mrs. Hobbs leaves her daughter, Lynn Barry Vardakis and son-in-law Demetrios of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Orleans; stepsons Christopher Hobbs of Jamaica Plain and Steven Hobbs of Orleans; and several grandchildren and nieces. Her sister, Patricia Lafford of Pembroke, N.H., and son-in-law Earl Bahler of New York City and South Orleans, survive her. Her daughter, Jane Barry Bahler, and a sister, Jeanne Huffman, died in 2007.

Friends and acquaintances will gather on Oct. 8 at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Orleans, for a memorial service at 10:30 a.m. to remember Gwen.

Locally, gifts in her memory may be made to the Orleans Convalescent Home Education Fund (60 Daley Terrace, Orleans, MA 02653), supporting those employees wishing to further their skills; or to the Friends of Pleasant Bay (P.O. Box 1243, Harwich, MA 02645), honoring Gwen's love of Arey's Pond and the waters of Pleasant Bay.²