Paul David Barton

June 27, 1895 – March 3, 1981

Paul D. Barton, a former oil-industry engineer and supporter of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, died Saturday of a brief illness. He was 85.

Memorial services will be held tomorrow at 3 p.m. at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 740 N. Fourth Ave. Remembrances may be made to the University of Oklahoma Foundation, Asp Avenue, Norman, Okla, 73019.

Born June 27, 1895, in Marionville, Missouri, to John W. and Geneva (Davison) Barton, the family moved to Perry in 1904 to establish a bookstore. While living in Perry he was recognized for his ability to play the coronet. He graduated from Perry high school in 1915 and continued his education at Oklahoma University, where he received a scholarship in chemistry, was a member of the orchestra, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In 1919, after receiving his bachelor’s degree at OU, he moved to Passadena, CA, where he earned a graduate degree from the California Institute of Technology.

Barton taught chemistry for about a year at Cal Tech before moving to in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, taking a job with Sun Oil Co. He retired in 1960 after serving as chief engineer and director of engineering.

He moved to Tucson in 1970, where he showed strong support for the Old Pueblo Lapidary Club and the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. He was an honorary trustee of the University of Oklahoma Foundation.

He is survived by his wife Mildred, of Tucson; two children, Claire Olsen of Media, Pa., and Paul Barton Jr. of Tucson; a foster son, James L. Dell of Palmyra, Pa.; and 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.