BRANFORD—Charles Edward Barr, 92, passed away on March 13, 2021.
Born in Washington, DC, raised in Norfolk, Va., he resided in Baltimore, Md., South Orange, N.J., Manhattan, NYC, and ultimately retired to the Connecticut Shoreline in Branford.
Charles graduated in 1950 from the University of Virginia and, in 1954, he received his dental degree from the Medical College of Virginia. In 1961, he received a Master of Science degree in Periodontology and Oral Medicine from the Graduate School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania. Charles completed a fellowship in oral pathology in 1979 at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and was a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology. He served as an officer in the United States Navy from 1954 to 1956. Charles spent most of his career working in oral medicine as an administrator, a researcher, and as a teaching professor. He was an associate professor of Oral Medicine at the University of Maryland, and chairman of Dental Medicine at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. Also, he was Professor of Dentistry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, ultimately attaining the honor of Professor Emeritus. He traveled extensively to South American countries and to the mid-East, lecturing and teaching in his field for the World Health Organization. During his professional career, Charles was published in scientific journals and was the recipient of numerous awards and citations and, in 2006, he was honored as the outstanding alumnus of the Medical College of Virginia. In his later years, Charles continued to conduct research at the University of Connecticut Health Center.
As a volunteer, Charles was a docent for 17 plus years at the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Conn. and at the Yale-New Haven Smilow Cancer Center in Guilford, Conn.
In 1956, Charles married Judith Keller, to whom he was devoted throughout their 57 years of marriage. Judith predeceased him in 2013. Together they had two children, Stephen Harry (Rebecca Vogel) and Vivienne Hanna (Perry Braun). Sadly, his son predeceased him in 2002 and his daughter predeceased him in 2019. Charles had four grandchildren, Samuel Barr, and Jack, Nicole, and Andrew Braun. In 2015, Charles married Margo Merin, with whom he had a loving marriage until his death. Charles was a man who put ethics and morality first in both his thinking and his actions toward others. He was a gentle man and a gentleman. He did not need to tell anyone of his achievements; he knew what they were and that was fine with him. He will be extremely missed by all who knew and loved him.
Contributions to the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia and to Temple Beth Tikvah in Madison, Conn. A memorial service took place via Zoom led by Rabbi Stacy Offner of Temple Beth Tikvah in Madison.