Anthony Barrett

Beloved Husband and Father

Anthony Joseph Barrett, age 94, passed away during the evening hours of January 25, 2021 at Etobicoke General Hospital. He was born November 26, 1926 on the family farm in a breathtakingly beautiful valley outside the village of Belmullet, County Mayo, Ireland.

He lost his wife of over 60 years in June of 2020, Susan, and he is survived by his four sons to whom he was devoted – Dermott, Andrew (Susan), John (Kimberley) and Brendan (Tomoko). He is also survived by his nine grandchildren which became the focus of his later years – Conor, Kevin, Matthew, Maura, Colin, Jack, Hilary, Jacob and Ken.

He was born into a large family, with 9 brothers and sisters to parents Andrew and Bridget (nee Moran). Sadly, only his sister and confidante Evelyn Hickey and his brother Brian, remain with us. His Canadian nieces Patricia (John), Sheila (Peter) and nephew Tony (Liz) were a big support to him as were his many friends and neighbours.

He had a dry sense of humour and loved to be outdoors. He loved animals of all kinds, but especially dogs. He was well known for border collies in Mayo. He kept no dogs in Canada, believing they need to be on a farm to roam.

He travelled to England to work in construction, but after a few years decided to emigrate to Australia for better opportunities. However, after meeting a friend in the airport bar, during a layover in New York, he changed his plans and came to Canada. He worked across Canada including the far north before settling in Toronto where he met his future wife at a dance at the Palais Royale.

He worked two full time jobs for twenty years to provide for his family (at the Stockyards in Toronto and at a factory), until he was promoted to the Superintendent of the Stockyards. He loved his work, and usually left for work by 5:30 in the morning. He was an early riser for all of his life.

His other passion was his garden and he was well known not only for his flowers but his cedar hedge which he trimmed using a level.

A strong and robust man for most of his life. His health declined in recent years, but he did not complain or feel sorry for himself as that was not his way.

He will be greatly missed. And we will think of him every day.


A celebration of Anthony’s life will be held at Ward Funeral Home, 4671 Highway 7, Vaughan, Ontario on Friday January 29th, 2021. He will be buried at Holy Cross Cemetery.

Flowers or donations to Heart & Stroke Foundation or to plant a tree at https://www.alivingtribute.ca/ are welcome. Online condolences may be expressed through this page.