After a life of devotion to his family, faith and practice of law, John J. Barry, 89, of Ewing, passed away suddenly on Sunday July 4, 2010, at Capital Health Systems at Mercer.
Born in Trenton, John was a life long resident and was known to many as Jack.
Early in his life, he was inspired by his father, a Captain in the Trenton Police Department, to pursue a career in the law and to make our society better. He was a graduate of Trenton Catholic High School, class of 1939, and earned his Bachelor of Arts (1944) and law degree (LLB, 1948) from Rutgers University. Immediately after graduating from law school with the highest grades in his class and as Associate Editor of the Law Review, he was appointed Assistant US Attorney in Newark and became the youngest member of their legal staff. In 1957, he was appointed First Assistant Prosecutor for Mercer County, New Jersey. During his thirteen years in this post, he tried many notable criminal cases including the Saint Mary’s Cathedral murder-arson trial of Elber Lucas in 1958 and the murder trial of William Boland in 1962. Upon leaving the Mercer County Prosecutor’s office, he worked as an attorney in private practice until the day before he passed away.
He was President and Board Member of the Mercer County Tuberculosis and Health League between 1954 and 1963; member of the Ewing Torch Club; and member of Our Lady of Good Counsel parish for over fifty years.
Son of the late Edward J. and Anna Mae Fitzpatrick Barry, husband of the late Betty R. Barry, brother of the late Edward J. Barry Jr., uncle of the late William and Thomas Barry, he is survived by a son and daughter-in-law Sean P. and Barbara of Novato, CA; a daughter and son-in-law Keelin S. Barry and Bruce Dorpalen of Philadelphia, PA; a son, R. Christopher of Ewing; two grandchildren Liam and Galen Dorpalen-Barry, one sister: Sister Mary Edwarda Barry, RSM of Lakewood, three beloved nephews Edward J. Barry III and wife Anne, Michael Barry and wife Jasmin, Robert Barry, his late nephew’s wives Lyn and Joann Barry, cousins, and many friends and colleagues.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday July 8, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in W. Trenton. Burial will be in Ewing Cemetery in Ewing. Calling hours will be Thursday from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at M. William Murphy Funeral Home, 935 Parkway Ave., Ewing, NJ, 08618.
Donations in his memory may be made to Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, 137 W. Upper Ferry Road, West Trenton, NJ 08628.