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Sir Robert A. Barrett, KCN
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Obituary
Visionary hotelier and entrepreneur, Sir Robert A. Barrett, KCN, passed away peacefully today surrounded by friends and family.
Barrett was born on May 21, 1940, in Bakersfield, California. He grew up in the small oil town of Taft, California where his father worked for Standard Oil.
As a child, Barrett faced significant challenges. He struggled with dyslexia, a severe speech impediment, and temporary blindness at a time when these conditions were not fully understood or accommodated in most public schools.
As a result, Barrett dropped out of Taft Union High School in tenth grade to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams. Nevertheless, Barrett remained close friends with many of his peers in Taft High School’s class of 1958. He often returned to Taft to attend high school reunions.
At the age of sixteen, Barrett began selling manure door-to-door to help his neighbors keep their gardens green and beautiful.
Soon, he was making enough money to start buying 40-foot containers of fertilizer to support his small business. Still a teenager, Barrett fell in love with landscaping and horticulture and started a successful, family-run nursery business in Taft.
Working alongside his mother and father, Barrett quickly earned landscaping contracts with local businesses and institutions like Taft College.
In 1963, Barrett left Taft for the Caribbean. He was keenly interested in travel and tourism and worked his way up the hospitality ladder from beach boy, to pool cleaner, to night auditor, then general manager.
During this time period, Barrett made lifelong hotel industry friends while working in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Jamaica, and the Bahamas.
By the 1970s, Barrett moved to New York City and began representing Caribbean hotels to the travel trade.
He established a successful hotel and travel marketing firm that boasted hundreds of major hotel clients, innovative airline magazines, and novel sales and marketing campaigns.
Barrett sold his New York business in the late 1970s, paving the way for him to begin his career as a hotelier. He bought the Montecito Inn in Santa Barbara, which he later sold after turning his attention back to the Caribbean.
In 1986, Barrett bought his first Caribbean hotel, Pineapple Beach Club, in Antigua. Over the next forty years, he purchased and built an impressive portfolio of hotels, grocery stores, and related businesses.
In 2023, Sir Barrett was knighted in Antigua in recognition of his significant contributions to Antigua and Barbuda’s tourism-based economy.
Barrett’s wit, work ethic, and incredible ability to analyze opportunities enabled him to rise far above his childhood challenges and become an inspiring pillar of the Caribbean travel community.
Barrett will always be remembered for his enduring generosity and charitable pursuits. He was a steadfast supporter of local Humane Societies, autism schools, orphanages, and medical facilities treating childhood illnesses.
Sir Barrett was, above all, a friend and mentor to those in need.
Barrett was preceded in death by his father, Robert Otto “Pat” Barrett; mother Mildred Eva Barrett (née Thornburgh); sister Bette Jean Coats; son Michael Allen Barrett; and daughter Denise Lyn Barrett.
He is survived by his wife, Lady Irina Barrett; son Robert D. Barrett and his wife Jenny; son Derek A. Barrett and his wife Evelyn; daughter Nicole D. Gehl (née Barrett) and her husband Erez; grandson Nicholas A. Barrett and his wife Juranne; grandson Robert T. Barrett and his wife Megan; grandson Clayton D. Barrett and his wife Maria; granddaughter Aurora A. Mauri; grandson Frederick Barrett; grandson Lucas Barrett; grandson Kian Barrett; and granddaughter Zoey Gehl; great grandchildren Isla Kieffer, Irie Brewster, Vladmir Barrett, Victoria Barrett, Charlotte Barrett, Robert Barrett, Theodore Barrett, and Nathan Barrett; stepson Jose Chen and his wife Maritza; and a vast number of lifelong friends and colleagues.
A private family gathering will be held in Sir Barrett’s honor. A celebration of life event will be held in Antigua later this year.
In lieu of cards or flowers, Sir and Lady Barrett ask that donations be made to the Antigua & Barbuda Humane Society.
Checks from outside of Antigua should be made payable to the Antigua & Barbuda Humane Society and mailed to: Humane Society Donations c/o 1065 SW 30th Avenue, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442.
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[…] Marshall, Chairman of the ABHTA, expressed his condolences on behalf of the Association: “Sir Robert Barrett’s impact on the hospitality landscape in Antigua and Barbuda cannot be […]
An irreplaceable loss for Antigua and Barbuda. Thank you for everything, Sir Robert.
A legend in his own right. His influence on our economy and society is undeniable.
Sir Robert was instrumental in putting Antigua and Barbuda on the map as a world-class destination.