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-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Debra Barr - Celebration of Life,20 Oct. 2008 - 2 pm - Royal
Roads University (FOR DISTRIBUTION PLEASE)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:48:19 -0700
From: Larade, Sharon LCS:EX <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Hi Susanne, could you please post this to AAO list for me?
many thanks
Sharon
Sharon P. Larade
Archivist - Records Appraisal and Advice - Corporate Information
Management Branch
Office of the Chief Information Officer - Ministry of Labour and
Citizens' Services
phone: 250-387-1320 fax: 250-387-4122
email: [log in to unmask]
http://www.cio.gov.bc.ca/services/records/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Hart, Susan LCS:EX
Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 8:40 AM
To: LCS CIPD CIMB
Subject: FW: [Arcan-l] Debra Barr - Celebration of Life,20 Oct. 2008 - 2
pm - Royal Roads University (FORDISTRIBUTION PLEASE)
Debra Elaine Barr passed away suddenly after a six-week illness on
Monday, October 13, 2008.
There will be a Celebration of Life for Debra at the Quarterdeck, Royal
Roads University (RRU), Victoria, BC, on Monday October 20th at 2:00 pm,
followed by refreshments.
Letters and tributes from across Canada (and beyond) are welcome and
will be read out; please send them to [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]> with a copy to [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>.
Follow this link for directions to RRU:
http://www.royalroads.ca/about-rru/the-university/campus-information/
Debra was in Cougar Annie’s Garden on Labour Day weekend, one of the
leaders of an expedition sponsored by Royal Roads University, when she
was taken seriously ill. After being airlifted to Tofino and then to
Victoria, she was diagnosed with an infection to the lining of the
heart. Debra has been in hospital ever since, attended by family and a
few close friends, and did appear to be recovering. However on
Thanksgiving weekend her blood pressure suddenly dropped, and she died
Monday October 13th in the operating room during an emergency heart
valve replacement operation. It was just a little before sunset.
Debra’s death comes as a terrible shock and loss to all those who knew
her, especially her soul-mate Ian Barclay; Ian’s three sons Fraser,
Malcolm, and Andrew; her mother, sisters Jan, Marna, and Cheryl, nieces
Katie-Lynn and Brianne, nephew Shane, and Uncle Jim (a second father to
Debra); and many, many dear friends, chief among them Walter Meyer zu
Erpen.
Debra was always one to find significance, patterns, themes, and
connections, in her extensive reading and in her very full life. It is
no coincidence that she was so close to her childhood home of Tofino
when she was taken ill. It is significant that she was there to educate
others about this very special part of the world, on an expedition with
an environmentalist theme, in company with artist Robert Bateman,
biologist/activist/politician Briony Penn, and her partner Ian. Debra’s
role was to enlighten the group about the human and natural history of
the Tofino area; anything she said would have been informed by her other
life roles and interests as an archivist, genealogist (her Norwegian
forbears settled in the area), birdwatcher, orienteer, and avid
gardener. RRU, the expedition sponsor, was also her employer – for
several years she has been the records officer and information and
privacy officer there, and more recently Debra has been helping to
create and curate the RRU Robert Bateman Art and Environmental Education
Centre, which will house Mr. Bateman’s archives and collections.
A defining role in Debra’s life was as an archivist. In 1981-1983 Debra
joined the first class of the very first archival studies program in
Canada – the Master of Archival Studies at UBC, where she studied under
Terry Eastwood and Hugh Taylor. One of Debra’s first jobs after
graduating was at the Anglican Diocesan Archives in Victoria (a return
home, as Debra’s family had moved there in her teens), and religious
archives remained an abiding interest throughout her life (she guest
edited Archivaria 30, the theme issue about religious archives, and,
working with Walter, conducted extensive research in the history of the
Canadian Spiritualist movement, with various publications accomplished
and planned). Debra’s next job was at the Records Management Branch,
Government of British Columbia, where she worked with a few other
leading lights in the Canadian archival community – Kent Haworth, Reuben
Ware, and others. Debra then worked for a number of years in Toronto at
the Victoria College and the University of Toronto, where various
passions emerged: historical manuscripts (she arranged and described
the papers of Earl Birney, among others), the concept of the fonds (her
seminal and influential articles on the concepts of the fonds and
provenance appeared in Archivaria 25 and 28, and are still well worth
reading). As a member of the Toronto Area Archivists Group, Debra
helped forge the first guidelines for pre- and post-appointment archival
education in Canada. In the winter of 1990/91 Debra, deep down a
west-coaster, returned home to Vancouver Island, and since then has
lived and worked in Victoria, where she explored other aspects of the
archival profession, as a records officer and information and privacy
officer, first for the Government of British Columbia, then for Royal
Roads University. Privacy rights of the deceased was Debra’s leading
archival research interest during this period of her career.
Debra was a giving person in every possible way. She donated her time
to many good causes – she was always involved in a leadership role in
the archival community, not only the afore-mentioned TAAG but also the
Association of Canadian Archivists, the Archives Association of BC (for
which she helped plan a very successful conference in Victoria this
year, jointly with ARMA Vancouver Island), and most devotedly she served
on the Board of the Anglican Diocesan Archives in Victoria for many
years. Debra also participated in numerous environmental groups and
causes (the Victoria Orienteering Society, The Land Conservancy of BC),
volunteered for the Victoria Literary Festival, and gave generously to
many causes. She was very concerned about the environment and the need
to preserve it. Debra always had gifts about her, little gifts of tea,
herbs, flowers, and large gifts of affection.
Debra was ever one to make things grow, be it flora or fauna. She
created a beautiful garden in her home with Ian, which this summer
really came into its own after several years of her devotion. She
worked with gardener and horticultural therapist Paul Allison to restore
and research the history of the Japanese garden at RRU (they presented a
session about it at the AABC conference earlier this year). When Debra
travelled, she visited gardens, in France and England especially; some
of us are finding memories of Debra in our cupboards, “Herbes de
Provence” in her handwriting on a jar, packets of organic tea from
England. Debra also cultivated fauna: budding archivists (many of us
have very special memories of her mentoring role in our lives), children
(nieces, nephew, step-sons – she had a wonderful story of getting all
muddy rescuing Katie-Lynn from the duck pond at Beacon Hill Park), her
cat Zoe, her many dear friends (she was the sort of person who
remembered birthdays, and bought you a book about yurts if you
fantasized about building one), and the love of her life Ian, who
complemented her so perfectly and brought her great happiness.
Debra would have turned 54 this week. By the Greek horoscope she was a
Scorpio, by the Chinese horoscope she was a horse. But really she was a
golden lion, with a tawny mane, a brave, bright presence, a clear,
intelligent mind, and a warm, warm heart. Memories of Debra are
endless, and so, in fact, is Debra, and the fact we lost her at
Thanksgiving reminds us to be thankful to have had her in our lives at all.
This wonderful, short tribute has been prepared by fellow MAS graduates
Susan Hart and Margaret Hutchison. A full tribute to Debra will appear
in an upcoming edition of Archivaria.
Donations in Debra Barr’s memory may be made to her designated charities:
* The Land Conservancy of British Columbia, Victoria, BC
* Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Victoria Branch)
* Survival Research Institute of Canada, Victoria, BC
--
Suzanne Dubeau, MISt
Assistant Head, Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections
York University
305 Scott Library, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3
(416) 736-5442 FAX (416) 650-8039
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