Jack Charles Barrett, 75

Jack Charles Barrett was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma on July 3, 1940 to parents Woodrow and Arvilla Barrett.

Within a few years the family moved to Los Angeles, California, where a second son, Jerry Barrett, was born. From an early age Jack worked summers and weekends in the family plumbing business.

In 1958, he married his high school sweetheart, Judy Carol Beatty, with whom he had two sons, Jeffrey, born in 1960, and Robert, born in 1962. The family resided in Torrance, California, and Jack worked for a variety of plumbing companies until starting his own company, Barrett Plumbing in 1968. Jack and Judy divorced in 1974, but he stayed involved with his sons and focused on growing his plumbing business.

In 1980, his work took him to the house of a long-time customer, Laura Grace Barrett, who had divorced her first husband, a man whose last name, coincidentally, was also Barrett. Jack and Laura quickly formed a close relationship, traveled extensively (Tahiti, Mexico, Italy, Spain, China), and organized family events involving some or all of their children (Laura’s five children are Stephanie, Bo, Michael, Kevin, and Gabriela). In 1984, Jack and Laura were married in a beautiful home ceremony, and resided in Palos Verdes, California for a number of years.

In 1982, while driving to a reunion event in Froid, Montana, where Laura was born, they diverted to the town of Bigfork because of its reputation for supporting visual and theatrical arts. Jack fell in love with the town immediately, and in 1983, Jack and Laura purchased the first of many properties in Bigfork, and moved there from California. Over 25 years they purchased and developed a lakefront property on Woods Bay, opened and ran Bridge Street Gallery Restaurant (1984-2000), established a property development and remodeling business, and most recently, opened Collage Gallery of Fine Art in Bigfork Village. For much of this time Jack had a well-earned reputation for eating, drinking, and tall tales. Always friendly, and usually loud, he was well known and well-liked by the Bigfork community.

Beginning in the late ’90s, Jack and Laura began taking regular trips during the winter to cities in Mexico, which ultimately led them to purchase a home in Puerto Vallarta’s Gringo Gulch area. Visits by friends and their children became a regular part of their winters in Mexico.

Jack suffered a severe head injury as a result of a fall in Bigfork in 2010. Although he recovered, and gave up alcohol, the injury had a long-term impact on Jack’s health. This past October he was diagnosed with advanced liver cancer. Treatment for the cancer in Kalispell further weakened Jack, who traveled to Puerto Vallarta in December to convalesce. Two weeks ago Jack fell and suffered a severe break in his left shoulder. Following major surgery to repair the break, Jack’s health quickly declined despite extensive medical and at-home nursing care.

On Sunday morning, Feb. 7, 2016, in his beloved Mexico home, and surrounded by his wife, his sons, Stephanie and Barbi Barrett, and his great friends/surrogate sons Kevin Gownley, and Jose Alfredo Moran, “he went to the Lord peacefully,” and without pain.

The family plans on a celebration of life memorial service later this year in Montana, once Laura returns from Mexico, and Bigfork is again filled with springtime beauty and warmth.