Frank William Barrie

ALBANY - Frank William Barrie, 73, passed away peacefully on October 1, 2023

He was born on January 1, 1950 in Oceanside, NY to Eleanor and Cecil Barrie. Frank grew up in Oceanside with his brother Norman and graduated from Oceanside High School in 1968. He matriculated at Colgate University, where he received a B.A. in English in 1972 and a Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) in 1973. Frank met many lifelong friends while at Colgate and sustained deep connections to the university over his life. During his Colgate M.A.T. program, he taught at Guilderland High School. He then went to Boston University Law School, meeting his lifelong partner, Kathy Bennett.

Following the completion of law school in 1976, they moved to Buffalo, where Frank worked at the Buffalo Neighborhood Legal Services office until 1978 when they moved to Brooklyn. While in Brooklyn, Frank worked for Community Action for Legal Services in East Harlem, where his fluency in Spanish was a key asset. An avid runner, he completed the 1978 NYC Marathon with a 7:14 mile pace.

In the early 1980s, Frank and Kathy moved to Albany, with Frank taking a job at the New York State Office of the Attorney General, and simultaneously earning an L.L.M. in taxation. Frank moved into a long career and final professional role in the New York State Division of Tax Appeals, serving as an administrative law judge. In this role, he issued a number of high-profile opinions. His and Kathy's son Daniel was born in 1983. Frank was a proud Albany city resident throughout his more than forty years spent in the city.

After retiring from Tax Appeals in 2009, Frank developed a passion for the cause of local, human-scale agriculture, curating a website, knowwhereyourfoodcomesfrom.com, dedicated to providing information on local sourcing of food and food policy; worked at the Honest Weight Food Co-Op; diligently read the New York Times and Times Union "with a fine-tooth comb" every day; and continued his running (completing countless Capital District 5Ks), swimming, and biking. He played piano his whole life, practicing diligently, and studied at Juilliard, his mother's alma mater. He was very active in the arts scene, taking in countless concerts, plays, musicals, operas, and art exhibits, with Kathy as his partner in the arts.

He is survived by his two grandchildren, Alice and Emmett Barrie, daughter-in-law Lauren Bregman, and lifelong friends, Robert Williams, Gerald Sun, Lorenz Worden, and Tom Bennett. He was predeceased by his dear friend Richard Enemark. Frank had many beloved nieces and nephews, and served as a committed honorary uncle to many friends' children, and friends of his son. He will be remembered by his friends and family as a gentle, kind, and warm man filled with love, and a person rooted in Albany, a city he felt was deeply authentic.

"The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope." - Wendell Berry

Visitation from 10-11 a.m. on Monday, October 9, at New Comer Cremations & Funerals, 181 Troy Schenectady Road, Watervliet followed by private interment at Albany Rural Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Capital Region Classical, American Farmland Trust, or the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York are appreciated.

To leave a message for the family online, visit NewComerAlbany.com