'...a life of service and community spirit -
topped off by a late-in-life discovery of golf!>
Ralph Guy Barter, a resident of Magnolia for more than 50 years, died surrounded by his family on Nov. 7, after a brief illness.
He was 96.
Born in Harrison, Mont., in 1911, he was the eldest of the six children of cattle rancher Rufus Barter and his wife, Maude Baldwin, a school principal and teacher. The family moved to Eastern Washington in the early 1920s due to his father's failing health.
Mr. Barter graduated from Columbia High School in Hunters, Wash., and completed one year at Washington State University. His education, however, was cut short by the difficult economic times brought on by the Great Depression. His widowed mother lost her teaching job because she had four sons of working age, and Mr. Barter and his brothers worked throughout Washington state picking fruit, working as ranchhands and at any other job they could find to support the family.
In the mid-1930s, as economic conditions improved, he moved to Seattle and began work at the Marine Hospital. In 1939 he married Doris Lillian Paulson of Arlington, Wash. Before the beginning of World War II, he began working for AT&T providing critical communication services for the war effort, which exempted him from military service. He retired from AT&T in 1978 after 37 years of service. Following his retirement, he was president of the AT&T Pioneers in Seattle, a volunteer organization made up of employees and retirees who give their time to enhance the communities where they live and work.
Also after retirement he began to golf for the first time. Despite his late start at the game, he became an avid golfer and played regularly until recently. His family and friends marveled at his accurate drives and great touch around the greens. At the time of his death, Mr. Barter lived in Mesa, Ariz., close to his favorite golf course.
During his time in Magnolia - to which he and Mrs. Baxter had moved in 1945 - Mr. Barter was an active member of Magnolia Lutheran Church, where he served as a deacon for many years. He was also belonged to the Masons and Toastmasters International and was a Boy Scout leader.
Of his many community activities, he was most proud of his role in supporting a family of Vietnamese "boat people" who settled in Seattle after the Vietnam War. The Barters provided encouragement and assistance as the family settled in their new country. The families became close friends and shared many happy occasions over the years, including college graduations and marriages.
Mr. Barter is survived by his wife of 68 years, Doris; his two children, David, of Haleiwa, Hawaii, and Karin Fielding, of Los Angeles, and their spouses; nine grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; a brother, Lyle, of Mesa, Ariz.; a sister, Jane, of Seattle; and many nieces and nephews.[[In-content Ad]]
