It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of our wonderful husband, father, grampa (opa), brother, uncle, and friend. He leaves his wife Joan, the love of his life; cherished children David (Lea), Karine and Lisa; adored grandchildren Hannah, Eli and Marley; and many dear nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sister Joan and brothers Brian and Jim.

Barrett was born in Winnipeg in 1938 to Margaret Einarson and Alec McDonald and was proud of his Icelandic and Scottish heritage. He had a happy childhood in a close and loving family and developed strong friendships that lasted a lifetime. A football player in his youth, he enjoyed many sports and golfed for 38 years at the Bayview Club.

He was a born entrepreneur and fulfilled his goals in the business world by starting his own insurance brokerage at age 29 and continued to develop and add new companies and innovative ideas. In 1990, with an FCIP designation, he was elected an underwriting member of Lloyd’s of London.

His dream was to get a pilot license and his own plane. He aced his IFR license at 42 and flew around North America, to Iceland and Europe in his Cessna 414.

Bart loved his family above all, and we treasured him and all the great memories we made at our Muldrew Lake cottage for 53 years. He was known for his sense of humour and loved a party with good friends. A warm, steadfast, and generous man, he was always accepting and kind.

We were lucky to have him in our lives and will miss him every day.

A celebration of Bart’s life will take place on Saturday, April 26th at 11am at Mount Pleasant Funeral Centre – 375 Mount Pleasant Road. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Palliative Care Unit at Sunnybrook, or Kohai Life would be appreciated.

A live broadcast of the celebration of life will be available at roughly 10:45am on April 26. The link will appear near the top of this page. If the link is not appearing, please refresh the page.