R. Dale Barrack

Dale was born September 9, 1942 in Pittsburgh, PA, the youngest of three children of William S. and Edna (Henderson) Barrack. He was educated in Pittsburgh public schools. At Langley High School, he excelled at track and won the mile run at the 1960 Pittsburgh City Finals. He attended Wayne State University, Detroit, MI on a track scholarship and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1965.

While at Wayne, he participated on the track and cross country teams that won the President’s Athletic Conference championships in 1962 and 1963. He set school and conference records in the mile and half-mile events and was invited to participate in the qualifying events for the American time trials leading to the 1964 Olympics. Already committed to the Navy’s Officer Candidate School, he declined participation in the time trials.

In 1965, he was commissioned an Ensign and served in the U.S. Atlantic Fleet Command in Norfolk, VA. He was one of two Navy liaison officers assigned to the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division in the Dominican Republic during the U.S. intervention. He completed his military obligation in 1968 as a LTJG.

He joined Shell Oil Company that same year in the refining and marketing organization in Baltimore, MD. He held a number of managerial assignments throughout his 35-year career and retired in 2003.

While he was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood, Dale served on the session of ruling elders and chaired the site development committee that oversaw the design and construction of the 33,000 square foot first phase of the church. Later, he was an active member of the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Kingwood and served on the church’s Vestry as both Junior Warden and Senior Warden. He also served on the board of the Houston Center for Hearing and Speech, currently known as The Texas Hearing Institute.

Dale was an avid woodturner and a member of the Gulf Coast Woodturners Association for many years, where he also served on the board of directors. He enjoyed taking a log that would have otherwise ended up as landfill or bark mulch and making something beautiful from it. He created a website to feature his work and also created a website for his woodturning club. He was active in the Kingwood Art Society for a number of years and was a member of the Kingwood Photo Club.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Bill and his sister, Ruth. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Fran, his son, David and his wife Chase and grandson Korben, and daughter, Kate and her husband, Pavel Abramov. He also leaves behind his sister-in-law Irene Barrack, of New Canaan, CT and numerous nephews, nieces and cousins as well as many friends.

A memorial service will be held at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, 2929 Woodland Hills Drive, Kingwood, TX on Friday, October 4th at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Dale’s memory may be made to the Texas Hearing Institute.