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John A. Barolet California, MD QCWA # 16582 |
John Alfred Barolet, 94, of Leonardtown, MD, formerly of California, MD, died peacefully in the company of his family on June 12, 2011 at Washington Hospital Center in Washington DC. He was born on December 4, 1916 in Cranston, Rhode Island, the eldest son of Alfred Barolet and Grace Dwyer Barolet.
He grew up in Wickford, Rhode Island where he and his two brothers, William and Joseph attended North Kingston, Rhode Island high school. After high school he attended Notre Dame University to pursue his parents' dream of becoming a doctor. Observing engineering students with their slide rules, he secretly switched majors to the School of Engineering.
He left Notre Dame after the death of his father to help his mother run the farm and his father's business. Two years later he returned to school at the University of Alabama. After a long break in his education in order to serve in the United States Army and raise a family, he ultimately returned to finish his degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Maryland.
Needing summer employment during the great depression, he joined the US Marine Corps Reserve where he attended Platoon Leader Course Number 1 at Quantico, Virginia. The Marine Corps lack of funding for officers led him to answer the call to duty as an Army radio intercept operator when World War II broke out. Upon completing his training at Fort Monmouth, NJ he was stationed in Stephenville Army Airfield, Newfoundland for 4 years.
While there, he met and fell in love with Margaret Mary Barron. They married on July 4, 1942 and began raising a family. He left the Army in May, 1945 and returned to Wickford, Rhode Island with his wife and two baby daughters. Leveraging his radio skills, he became a civil servant for the Department of the Navy at Quonset Point, RI.
In 1948 he moved to Patuxent River Naval Air Station and became an Electrical Engineer and branch chief. He retired from Civil Service in 1972. In the ensuing 13 years, he completed hiking the Appalachian Trail, taught adult education backpacking classes, served as the Scout Master for Boy Scout Troop 787, and volunteered at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church. Additionally, he served as the St. Mary's County Coordinator for the Amateur Radio Emergency Services having been a amateur radio ham operator for more than 60 years.
He lived his last six years at Cedar Lane in Leonardtown, MD where he enjoyed walking, dancing, playing cards, and talking with his friends and fellow residents.