I was very saddened to learn last night on the evening news of the passing of J. Esmonde Barry.
My God? He was a fighter and it was almost an impossible task to stay mad at the guy.
I used to call him almost bi-weekly and he was a great guy to listen to.
During the suggested cuts to the Saint Joe’s Hospital in Saint John, he knew I was a backer of Frank Mckenna via my many letters to the Editor.< The good old days >
He would always refrain to Frank – Your Great Leader!!!
The last time I chatted with Esmonde was last year and he was in good sprit.
He left his mark in Saint John BIG TIME!!!
He was a fighter but in a gentleman way!
It was impossible to stay mad at the guy.
Esmonde Barry and the great Lou Murphy were the Champions for Saint Joe’s and it’s because of the efforts and courage of those great individuals that we still has a hospital in Central Saint John.
Yes, the great warriors are quickly leaving us and I don’t see anyone with enough determination and courage to talk their place?
My Deepest Sympathy to the whole family.
We have lost one of the best!!!!
Aurevoire mon chum!!!!
P.S. If any of his family members reads this blog? Can you send me a picture of Esmonde at oldmaison@yahoo.com
Merci
Here's another story from CBC
Barry remembered as dedicated, rare
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 1, 2007 | 3:20 PM AT
CBC News
Saint John is mourning a well-known activist this week.
J. Esmonde Barry passed away Tuesday evening in Ottawa, at the age of 83, of complications from a heart attack.
Perhaps best known as the voice of the Friends of St. Joe's, he was instrumental in keeping St. Joseph's Hospital open in Saint John's uptown.
He likened the quest he began in 1976 to save the facility to a real bare-knuckle fight.
"A good fighter, after he's knocked down two or three times, he gets up," Barry once said. "That's what makes a champion. I think we're going to be champions before this is over."
Jane Barry is the executive director of the Greater Saint John Community Foundation, but back when Barry was fighting to save St. Joe's, she was a provincial cabinet minister who occasionally locked horns with him.
Although she says she didn't always agree with his point of view, she says she always respected him.
"He certainly was very dedicated to the causes in which he believed, and yes, people like that are somewhat rare," she said Wednesday.
Barry also lobbied for compensation for those involved in the hepatitis C tainted blood scandal of the 1980s. He was himself infected by a blood transfusion at that time.
He leaves behind wife Maureen and 11 surviving children.
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