Barclay Trippe, Jr.

Barclay Haskins Trippe, Jr. died Thursday, June 2, 2011. Born July 31, 1923, he was the son of Barclay H. and Mary H. Trippe. A lifelong resident of Talbot County, he was 87 years old. Mr. Trippe attended The Episcopal High School and graduated from Williams College, Class of 1945. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1942 and after graduating from Midshipman’s School, spent two years in the Atlantic and Pacific on a destroyer escort. He was discharged as a Lieutenant (j.g.) in 1946. After the war he went to work for his father’s company, Maryland Credit Finance Corporation. When the company was sold, he and an associate bought the Avon-Dixon Insurance Agency, of which he was president and principal owner. Starting with a total staff of four, the business over the years grew to become one of the largest agencies on the Eastern Shore. Mr. Trippe retired in 1985 and sold the company to his employees. During his younger days, Mr. Trippe was very active in community organizations. He has been a trustee and president of the Talbot County Free Library as well as one of the early board members and past Treasurer of the United Fund, in which he was still active at the time of his death. He was a fifteen year board member of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and a past president of The Country School. He was a onetime chairman of the Red Cross and a longtime trustee of the Maryland Agricultural Society of the Eastern Shore as well as a member of The Legal Limit DoveClub. Mr. Trippe was also interested in historic preservation. As a member of Historic Easton, he was very involved in the purchase and the restoration of the Trippe House on South Street in Easton where his grandfather lived. In recent years he led the effort to restore and maintain the Miss Mary Jenkins House on Washington Street, possibly the oldest frame house in Easton, now owned by the Historical Society of Talbot County. Mr. Trippe was a lifelong member and onetime vestryman of Christ Episcopal Church in Easton. In his youth, he became passionate about sailing. His father bought him his first boat for $25 and from then on racing sailboats was his greatest love. Over the years he owned and raced Scrappy Cats, Comets, Penguins, Stars, and cruising boats, competing in regattas all over the East Coast. He was a member and Past Commodore of both the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Club and the Tred Avon Yacht Club. In later years he became interested in golf and enjoyed playing in local tournaments and with friends. He was a longtime member of Talbot Country Club. As a boy, he had a shop teacher in school who got him interested in making things out of wood. This was the beginning of a lifetime hobby, which was how he relaxed in his spare time. Along with a good friend, William L. Lane, Sr., he built a number of small boats and sold them to friends. Later he became interested in making antique furniture reproductions and made many pieces over the years for himself and his children. Mr. Trippe is survived by his loving wife of 60 years, Eleanor LaMotte Trippe, two daughters, Catherine Trippe McCarty (Patrick J.) of Richmond, Virginia, and Nancy LaMotte Trippe of Eason. He has three grandchildren, Sarah, Charlotte, and Sophie Cutts, all of Easton. A memorial service will be held at Christ Episcopal Church, 111 South Harrison Street, Easton on Thursday, June 9, 2011 at 11:00 AM.

Barclay Trippe, Jr.

July 31, 1923 - June 2, 2011