The night before Ted Brown's mother died, Reverend Peter Barrow stopped by to visit with him. It was a difficult time, but that’s when you could count on Barrow to be there.
As the minister for both Knox and Limehouse Presbyterian Church for 32 years, he was there to celebrate the good times with members of the congregation, but also there when they needed comfort.
“We had a long talk and he just made it appear things weren’t as bad as they seemed,” Brown said. “He had a great talent for talking.”
Brown visited Barrow last week at Oakville Trafalgar Hospital, just days before the longtime minister died on Oct. 30 at the age of 92.
“I’m sad to see him go,” said Brown, who viewed Barrow every bit as much as a friend as a minister, “but he lived a pretty spectacular life.”
Another visitor in Barrow’s final days was Clark Somerville, who along with other members of the Masonic Lodge, presented Barrow with a medal to recognize his 60 years as a Mason. In addition to both being members of the Masonic Lodge, Somerville and Barrow crossed paths often, Somerville as a town councillor for almost three decades and Barrow in, well, almost any role you could imagine.
Barrow, the Georgetown Citizen of the Year in 1974, was a padre for both the Georgetown and Acton branches of the Royal Canadian Legion and presided over Remembrance Day services. He was the chaplain for both the Halton Hills Fire Department and the Halton Regional Police Department. He was a lifetime member of both the Masons and the Shriners Club, was involved with the local Air Cadets and the Rotary Club. Barrow was also a founding member of the Georgetown Highland Games.
“He was woven into the fabric of Halton Hills,” Somerville said.
And as much as Barrow did publicly, there was just as much that he did out of the spotlight.
“He did a lot of work for the crisis centre behind the scenes,” Brown said.
Even well into his 80s, Barrow still went on ride-alongs with Halton police officers in Georgetown and Milton on Friday nights.
As busy as he was, Barrow found time to pursue his interests. He loved classic cars, which led to his involvement in local shows. He took a photography course at Sheridan College and later taught Brown the basics of developing film and making prints, which Brown said was instrumental in getting him started on a 30-year career as a photographer for the Georgetown Independent.
Somerville said Barrow’s greatest skill was talking to people, whether it be to a congregation or one-on-one.
“He was a storyteller. Whenever he did a sermon, he wound a story through the sermon. He would go in a direction and you wondered where he was going with it, and then he’d bring it back and tie it all together,” Somerville said. “He was a captivating speaker.”
Brown said Barrow always put others first, sometimes to a fault. He got to know Barrow better outside the church during his weekly visits to the Brown farm. Every Tuesday, Barrow would come to visit Brown’s father, who was the clerk of session for the Limehouse church.
“He never wanted to talk about himself,” Somerville said. “He always wanted to know what you were doing. He was kind, compassionate and he wanted the best for people.”
Upon hearing about Barrow’s death, Somerville was reminded of a quote from a card he received when his father died – ‘A life lived with others in mind touches the hearts of many and shall live on for others.’
“That was Peter,” Somerville said.
Barrow is survived by his daughters Trish, Jane and Maggie and his sister Margaret White.
Visitations will be held at Jones Funeral Home, 11582 Trafalgar Road in Georgetown, on Wednesday, Nov. 6 and Thursday, Nov. 7 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. A funeral service will be held in the funeral chapel on Friday, Nov. 8 at 11 a.m. with interment to follow at Limehouse Cemetery. A reception will be held at the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 120.
For those unable to attend the service, a live stream will be available online.
There will also be a Masonic Lodge service held at Jones Funeral Home Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 5:45 p.m. and another for the Royal Canadian Legion Thursday, Nov. 7 at 5:45 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Barrow’s memory to Cancer Assistance Halton Hills or The Poppy Fund.
