Passed away August 12, 2025, age 86. Barry is survived by children, Helen Zebedee (William) and Simon Thomas (Karina); and grandchildren, Vivian and Brock Thomas. He was predeceased by spouse, Anne Thomas (Walker); parents, Cecil and Kathleen (Blair) Thomas; and brother, Derek Thomas (Margaret). Barry’s formative years at the Friends’ School in Lancaster, England fostered his love of science and introduced him to Quakerism. He obtained a doctorate in Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Liverpool, where he also taught. He met and married high school teacher Anne Walker, and they moved to the Ottawa area with baby Helen, with Simon born a year later. Barry worked for Health Canada for thirty years, first in drug interactions, later in drinking water and air quality. He published over 150 scientific papers and continued to take on consulting work after retiring and moving to Nova Scotia. He was instrumental in the creation of the Drinking Water Materials Safety Act and in banning sulfur in gasoline in Canada, which was later adopted in many other countries and in WHO guidelines. Barry also was an active volunteer, as a trustee for Canadian Yearly Meeting (Quakers) and other roles, on the executive of the International Society for Toxicology, and in the Tangier Gold Mine Historical Society. Anne and Barry had their dream home built in Tangier, Nova Scotia for their retirement years, featuring passive solar construction and ocean views. Unfortunately, Anne’s declining health meant that they could not stay in a rural area with limited services, and in 2017 they moved to Dartmouth, close to Helen and Bill. Within a year of Anne’s passing in 2020, Barry was diagnosed with mixed dementia, needing increasing levels of care at Parkland at the Lakes. He enjoyed reading Scientific American, the Guardian Weekly and the local paper, as well as watching the weather and comings and goings outside his window. He looked forward to twice-weekly visits from Helen and annual visits from Simon and family, as well as news of Vivian and Brock, who are both engineering students at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
As per his wishes, Barry’s remains have been cremated, and no funeral service will be held. A memorial meeting will be held in the manner of Friends at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Lifewater Canada or the Nova Scotia Nature Trust.
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