James Barry Jr., Chairman of Barry Company and one of CARW’s longest-standing members, has passed away. We are all saddened by this
news and are reminded of his influence on Milwaukee as well as our Industry. A long-standing member of CARW, GMAR, SIOR and WRA, James Barry Jr. was also involved heavily in community endeavors. More information about the visitation will be released soon. In the meantime, find information about Jim in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel here. Our heartfelt condolences are with the Barry Family at this time.
Below from the Milwaukee Business Journal by Sean Ryan:
James Barry Jr., chairman of Milwaukee real estate firm The Barry Co. and a prominent area real estate industry leader, died Tuesday at age 85.
The Milwaukee native became leader of the firm in 1964, and was a leader in the local real estate industry. He played an important role in assembling land for downtown Milwaukee’s tallest building, the U.S. Bank Center.
He also was involved in assembling and selling real estate for more than a dozen southeast Wisconsin business parks, including Bishop’s Woods in Brookfield, the New Berlin Industrial Park and Moorland Industrial Park. He performed real estate assignments for Johnson Controls, Snap-on Inc., Rockwell International, MillerCoors and Harley-Davidson Inc.
After transferring leadership of The Barry Co. to his sons, Barry Jr. remained an ever-present force in the commercial real estate industry, providing advice and guidance to the brokers of The Barry Co. and remaining keenly well-informed on all things commercial real estate. In his later years, he carried a business card that identified his position as “Peddler.”
“My father had the great gift of truly loving what he did, as well as seeing it as his vocation in life,” said James Barry III, Barry Co. president. “In addition, he was deeply devoted to the Milwaukee community, not only as a business leader, but also as an engaged civic leader with a wide array of involvements.”
He served as president of the Milwaukee Board of Realtors and as a director of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR). He was twice awarded SIOR’s “Most Ingenious Transaction” award, once for his work in the sale of a Pabst Brewing property in Peoria, Illinois, and a second time for the help he provided in structuring a transaction for the Gisholt division of Giddings & Lewis in Monona and Madison.
He was recognized in 2010 by the Wisconsin chapter of SIOR with a Lifetime Achievement Award honoring his more than 50-year career in commercial real estate. The same year, he was also named to the Midwest Real Estate News Hall of Fame.
Barry Jr. died of natural causes. Two other sons, David and Kevin Barry, also are leaders in the family real estate firm.