James Ronald (Jim) Barrett passed away April 4, 2023, in St. George, UT with his beloved wife, Rena at his side. Jim was born on the day before Pearl Harbor, December 6, 1941, in Rutland, VT to Ronald John Barrett and Verna Mae Frappier. Jim and his parents lived in Rutland until late 1944 when they moved to Keen, NH before settling in Bellows Falls, VT on Oak Street in 1945. Jim graduated from St. Charles Catholic School in 1955. His reputation for mischief started early as the nuns warned his younger brother, Allen many times not to repeat any of Jim’s numerous shenanigans. In 1956, the family moved to Pleasant St.

Jim graduated from Bellows Falls High School in 1959, but stayed in touch with his class including life-long friends, Leonard “Legs” McAuliffe and Francis “Butch” Burns with whom he shared many adventures. Jim’s children heard stories of the fun that he and his friends had including building their own pirate rock and roll station and smoking the teenage girls out of their lodge at summer camp with brush shoved down the chimney. One adventure his brother, Allen fondly remembers is the weekend they took a joyride with their dog, Cindy over to Lake George, NY to camp before deciding to turn it into a joyride around Manhattan, across Connecticut, and then up thru Massachusetts and New Hampshire before returning to Bellows Falls. As Allen says, the world grew a little smaller after that weekend.

Jim met his first wife, Sandra Jean Thompson in 1962 on her 21st birthday in Burlington, VT. They married in 1963 and raised three children, Michael, Bonnie, and Bob. They lived briefly in Bellows Falls, Florida, Boston, and New Haven, CT before settling on George St. in Ansonia, CT in 1970. 

Jim was well-known during the CB radio craze of the 1970s by his call sign the “Blue Dart” after his blue 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger, the 50-foot CB antenna in his yard, and his outsized personality, toothy grin, and infectious laugh. He also enjoyed boating and fishing for bluefish in Long Island Sound with his good friend, Jim Malerba. His penchant for mischief continued with one story that landed in the local papers of Yale marine biologists investigating why sharks were found in a freshwater pond in Ansonia after it was drained. 

Jim had a lengthy career in the manufacturing industry starting as a tool and die maker at General Electric in Burlington, VT, and retiring as the manufacturing superintendent of Farrel Corporations Northeast Repair Facility in Ansonia, CT in the early 2000s.

Jim married Rena in 1991 and they lived in Shelton, CT until moving to St. George, UT in 2007 after retirement. Jim and Rena enjoyed socializing with friends, playing with their Maine Coon cats, and taking long drives to enjoy the beauty of the region.

Jim leaves behind his wife, Rena of 31 years and their special cat “Princess,” first wife, Sandra, son, Michael and wife, JoAnne, daughter, Bonnie (Burritt) and husband, Stan, son, Robert (Bob) and wife, Karen, grandchildren, Heather Barrett, Jessica Barrett, Shawn Burritt and wife, Cathy, Justin Burritt, Tyler Barrett, Trey Barrett, and great-grandchildren, Caden, Connor and Chase Burritt, brother, Allen and wife, Claudia, nephew, Patrick and his wife, Melodie, great-nephew, Evan Barrett and wife, Liz.

Jim was predeceased by his parents, Ronald and Verna.

Per Jim’s request, services will be private.