Barry Michael Girouard, 70, of Critz, VA passed away on Friday, 20 March 2020, due to acute coronary insufficiency, at home in Critz, Virginia; he was born on 14 March 1950 in Miami, Florida. Barry was the third son of COL(R) Theodor Joseph Girouard, Jr. (Ted) and Mrs. Virginia Bain Girouard (Ginny) of Critz, both of whom preceded him in death, and the youngest brother of LTC(R) Theodor J. Girouard III (Gerry) of Sierra Vista, Arizona and Mr. Terry A. Girouard of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Barry graduated from Randolph Macon Academy in Front Royal, VA in 1968, where he excelled in track & field and JV football; he was the Battalion Adjutant/Executive Officer and Captain of the RMA Varsity Rifle Team his senior year; he was accepted to and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1972 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations. He trained in several employment skills but finally decided to travel to California where he was employed by Jensen Manufacturing Company in San Francisco, CA, finally serving as Vice President and member of the Board of Directors. After 22 years with that firm, he took an early retirement to move back to Critz in June 1998 to assist his widowed mother. While living in Critz, he was employed by Vaughn Furniture Company of Stuart, and by American Furniture Company of Martinsville. To understand Barry and the life he lived, one should know that he was the son of a career US Army Military Intelligence officer (veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam) (his father), and a World War II Department of the Army Civilian Intelligence agent (his mother) who had met in post-war Berlin in 1946; his parents were married there in 1947. As a young boy, Barry accompanied his family during military overseas tours of duty in Germany and Panama as well as CONUS assignments in Florida, Georgia, and two assignments in Virginia. He had a passion for life of which he often wrote in stories and beautiful poems, and for the many family pets that included dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, birds and tropical fish. He loved to read, listen to music, study astrology, go camping and fishing, and walk in the woods or along the beaches of the world. He was thrilled to say that, as a young teenager, he convinced his older brothers to accompany him on one of the very first live US concerts of the Beatles in 1965 at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. But most notably, he had a passion for helping people which was never more evident than during the last fifteen years of his mother’s life following her major strokes in 1999 and 2009. Barry lived with and cared for “Miss Virginia” and ensured that she could spend those last fifteen years in the home she loved among the wonderful family memories of her almost 50 years of life, traveling the world with her husband and “three boys.” Barry was a gentleman, a scholar, a gifted artist and writer, a master woodworking craftsman, but above all else, he was a devoted son and wonderful brother, brother-in-law, uncle, great uncle, and loyal and helpful friend to so many.
Per his wishes, Barry was cremated with the assistance of Moody Funeral Home of Stuart, VA. The family will hold a memorial service at a later date.
