Obituary of Gary E. Barton

Gary Barton dies and the Staten Island sports community mourns a Port Richmond HS legend By Claire M. Regan | For the Staten Island Advance Standing tall at 6 feet and weighing in at a sturdy 250, it’s no surprise Gary Barton ended up on the “Mount Rushmore” of Port Richmond High School football. He was built for the sport. The native Staten Islander earned that distinction in a 2015 Advance survey as the school’s best lineman ever. A standout on the offensive tackle, he helped the Raiders clinch the borough championship by beating arch-rival New Dorp High School in a surprise 1973 upset in his senior year. Mr. Barton’s death on Friday at age 64 sent waves of grief through the local sports community, especially among former teammates who had become lifelong friends. They were crushed to discover that cancer was too fierce a foe for this strongman to tackle. Throughout a successful 33-year career with the city Department of Education that followed football, Mr. Barton stayed close to his gridiron buddies as they shepherded each other through the highs and lows of life. “We’re still a team today,” Mr. Barton said in a 2018 interview. “We look out for each other.” There were holiday gatherings, Super Bowl parties, late-night calls to announce births and promotions. Seven members of the team and their wives enjoyed an annual fall vacation in Cancun that had to be canceled last week when Mr. Barton’s health declined. The lineman works out in the weight room at Minot State University in 1977. CHILDHOOD ATHLETE Born in Mariners Harbor the day after Christmas in 1956, Gary Barton attended PS 44 and was drawn to sports after his father died when he was 8. Softball, basketball and touch tackle filled the void between the end of the school day and when his mother arrived home from her job in Manhattan. “Sports and people kept me on the right track,” Mr. Barton told a reporter in 1993. “Because of football, I got with a bunch of guys who were right.” By the time he graduated from Port Richmond in June 1974, he had become a two-time Advance All Star at offensive tackle. He would later serve on the Advance advisory board for selecting All Stars in football, and join the newspaper’s 50-member All-Century team in 2000. “He was a powerful player, very determined to succeed,” recalled Nick Bilotti, legendary coach and lifelong friend. “It was amazing how fast he was,” said fellow Port Richmond Raider Jim Schoepfer, who went on to play tight end for the University of Tennessee. “He had speed like nobody else.” Gary Barton on the field at Minot State University in 1976. Mr. Barton continued his football career with a scholarship to Minot State University, where his portfolio included two years as captain, two years as an all-North Dakota Athletic Conference selection and Little All-American honors. But he was especially proud of the degree he earned in business and criminal justice at Minot State, graduating with a 3.2 GPA. The Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League signed him in 1978. Three months later, the Alouettes cut Mr. Barton, but protected themselves with a contract that prohibited him from signing with another team for six months. “Rich Kotite was with the Cleveland Browns then, and he called,” Mr. Barton explained in an interview. “But I was still under contract to Montreal. That ended it.” A SUCCESSFUL CAREER Armed with his college degree, Mr. Barton took a job in 1979 with the city Department of Education (DOE), formerly the Board of Education, as an assistant director in the Office of School Safety. He was soon promoted to Manhattan borough coordinator. He held a succession of management positions with the DOE’s Division of Human Resources and Office of Pupil Transportation and served as director of operations for Community School District 31 (Staten Island). He retired in 2012 as executive director of the Division of Human Resources and Talent. He also served for several years as director of the Big Apple Games, a citywide summer sports and recreation program for children. Gary and Brenda Barton at their daughter’s wedding on July 12, 2013. In 1992, Mr. Barton was honored by the former Staten Island Cooperative Continuum of Education with the Maurice Wollin Administrator of the Year award, named for the late superintendent of Island schools. His positions within the DOE made him a highly desirable connection for educators struggling to navigate the agency’s bureaucracy. “Anyone who called, he would help them,” confirmed Bilotti, who also served as the first principal of Staten Island Technical High School. “He just was one of the good guys,” said Jerry Lee, former Advance deputy sports editor. “He was the kind of guy you would attach the expression, ‘Nobody ever had a bad word to say about Gary Barton.’ He was an icon in sports and education.” HIGH-SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS At Port Richmond High School, Mr. Barton found more than success as No. 73 for the Raiders. He found the love of his life, the former Brenda Conner. She was a freshman and he was a junior when they went on their first date to the Island Theater next to E.J. Korvette’s in New Springville. “The Getaway” with Ali McGraw and Steve McQueen was playing that night. They were married on Aug. 10, 1979 in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Port Richmond, followed by a reception at the former Pisa catering hall in Brooklyn. After a honeymoon cruise to the Caribbean, they settled in Bulls Head and raised two children. Athletic skills are part of the Barton family DNA. Son Gary Jr. excelled in golf, becoming a three-time Advance All Star at Susan Wagner High School and then setting numerous school records at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. Daughter Kelly was a Port Richmond High School softball standout. Gary and Brenda Barton enjoy the Super Bowl in Phoenix in February 2015. A mutual passion for travel took the Bartons to Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Spain and on several road trips across the country. They lived in Bulls Head until a year ago when they relocated to Holmdel, N.J. Friends and former teammates expressed their condolences. “Gary Barton possessed values that seem to be diminishing more and more these days,” said Robert J. Scamardella, West Brighton attorney. “He was a man of integrity, diligence, loyalty and humility – a marvelous combination. And he excellently fulfilled the roles of husband and father. He courageously fought, then accepted, his final illness. I lost a good friend and all of us lost a good man. I’ll miss him greatly.” Jim Schoepfer will miss Mr. Barton’s sense of humor and storytelling skills. “He had a way of telling a story that you lived 15 years ago and had heard 10 times, as if it just happened,” Schoepfer said. “He would roar with laughter and slap you on the back. His laugh was infectious.” For Schoepfer and the other members of Bilotti’s “Magnificent Seven” from the Port Richmond High School Class of ‘74 – Lou Rubio, Ron Ragucci, George Gioia, Anthony Goffredo and Ron Harris – losing Mr. Barton is like losing a member of the family. Mr. Barton organized many of the group’s reunions, including an annual holiday gathering at the former Schaffer’s Tavern in Meiers Corners where they would gather in the back room to relive favorite memories. “He kept us all together,” Schoepfer said, tearing up. The Bartons met as students at Port Richmond High School and were married on Aug. 10, 1979. (Courtesy of the Barton family) SURVIVORS AND ARRANGEMENTS In addition to his wife, Brenda, surviving Mr. Barton are a son, Gary Barton Jr. (Jeanne); a daughter, Kelly Barton Burke (Gerard), and six grandchildren, Gary III, James and William (Beau) Barton, and Madden, Colette and Ava Burke. A wake will be held at Matthew Funeral Home, Willowbrook, on Tuesday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in Holy Family R.C. Church, also Willowbrook, followed by private cremation at Rosehill Crematory in Linden, N.J. In lieu of flowers, donations to the football program at Port Richmond High School will be appreciated. For information, contact John Woodman, president of the Port Richmond Alumni Association, at jwoodman1@si.rr.com.