Barry Tarrant Obituary, Death – Barry Tarrant, who had formerly worked at Scotch Oakburn College, passed away on May 28th, 2023. He was a former member of the faculty. He was a member of the faculty, served as the Head of Boarding, coached football, and was a significant benefactor to the college.
Barry has been an ever-present figure at the college ever since he began his teaching career at Scotch College in 1977. This was a long time before the Oakburn and Scotch Colleges combined into one institution. After he had finished his career as a teacher, Barry continued to honour us with his presence on a regular basis on Friday afternoons. This continued until approximately eighteen months ago.
When he and his wife, Rosemary, moved to Melbourne so that they could be closer to their family. The move was motivated by the desire to spend more time with their children and grandchildren. Scotch Oakburn College could always count on Barry’s undying loyalty and support. Everyone who had any kind of interaction with Barry was charmed by his sense of humour, which had a tendency to be irreverent at times.
As a direct result of this, he counted a significant number of people among his friends. He never lacked the time to listen, engage in conversation, or share the wisdom that resulted from his many years of experience. Everyone who knew Barry Tarrant has a multiplicity of anecdotes about him, whether they happened in the classroom, the Boarding House, on football fields or on field trips, or in the staffroom of the school.
Those that he instructed, coached, mentored, and led, as well as those who he worked alongside, all had their lives brightened by his presence. He also worked with people who had their lives brightened by his presence.
All three of his children, Elizabeth, Olivia, and Edwina, as well as their individual families, were students at Scotch Oakburn and he is survived by his wife, Rosemary, as well as the rest of his family. Rosemary is also his sole surviving family member.
