Robert Owen Barratt
Robert “Bob” Barratt, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, after complications from a fall in December, and dementia.
Bob was a brilliant nuclear engineer, avid sailor and accomplished artist who spent the last 25 years on his beloved Nassau Point, in Cutchogue, Long Island, N.Y.
Bob was born on March 4, 1938, in Lewes, England, to Nora Rose Barratt and Robert Wilson Barratt. He graduated first in his class at Brighton University, majoring in mechanical engineering, and received his master’s degree in power plant engineering from Imperial College, London.
Bob was a chartered mechanical engineer and a fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in the U.K. And he was a licensed professional engineer in the states of New York and New Jersey. He authored/published 18 technical papers and held nine U.S. patents.
Bob immigrated to the United States in 1966 with his family to begin a career with Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation, located in Livingston, N.J. He subsequently became the CEO of Foster Wheeler Energy Applications. Later in his career, he returned to London to work for Babcock Energy Ltd., and through his work became a Freeman and received the key to the City of London. Bob and his wife, Elizabeth, were invited to Buckingham Palace on two occasions and met Queen Elizabeth.
Bob and Liz traveled extensively during their marriage and had the opportunity to visit the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal in India, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Colosseum in Rome, the Parthenon in Greece and visited their daughter Nikki in Africa and did three wild-animal safaris. They also traveled to Costa Rica, the Caribbean and the U.S. with their daughter Jackie, and spent many holidays visiting family in Europe. Bob started sailing as a young man, and his pride and joy was his Tartan 37 “Serenade,” which he and the family sailed from City Island, N.Y., through Long Island Sound and up to Maine every summer for over a decade.
Many happy summers and large holiday gatherings were spent with family on Nassau Point. Bob and Liz were active in the Southold Historical Society and Peconic Bay Sailing Association and Bob regularly donated his original artwork to an annual art auction benefiting Southold Historical Society.
Bob is survived by his wife of 57 years, Elizabeth; two daughters, Jacqueline Breen (John Compitello) of Locust Valley, N.Y., and Nicola Barratt of Greenwich, Conn.; six grandchildren, Ryan Breen (Jen), Haley Breen, Jackson Barratt Heitmann, Hawkins Barratt Heitmann, Gabriella Barratt Heitmann and Michael Barratt Heitmann; and one great granddaughter, Emma Eileen Breen.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978, eeh.org; or Southold Historical Society, P.O. Box 1, Southold, NY 11971.
This is a paid notice.
