Christopher Barry, professor emeritus of finance at TCU, continually sought knowledge, family and colleagues said.
Whether on the intricacies of emerging Third World markets, his Christian faith or the brain disease that would lead to his death, he was constantly performing research.Mr. Barry, who held the Robert and Maria Lowden Endowed Chair in Business Administration at TCU's M.J. Neeley School of Business, died Thursday. He had frontotemporal dementia, which was diagnosed seven years ago, said his daughter, Renee Barfoot, of Dallas. He was 65.The Georgia native came to TCU to teach in 1988 after teaching at the University of Florida, the University of Texas and Southern Methodist University.While at SMU, he raised nearly $500,000 to fund a center for financial instructions and markets, which brought attention to the Cox School of Business, Barfoot said.She recalled how, on family road trips, she and her brother, Brent, would challenge their father to multiply random seven-digit numbers on the spot. He'd quickly reach an answer, and, after checking his math, they were astounded by his accuracy.When Mr. Barry became fascinated by investments in developing south-of-the-border markets, he learned Spanish. Soon he was visiting those countries to conduct research."My dad was one who would think so brilliantly," Barfoot said. "So for someone like that to get a brain disease -- it was like a bad joke.... "But he was insistent that he had to keep learning."Joseph B. Lipscomb, a fellow professor at the Neeley School, called Mr. Barry "the most intelligent man I've ever known."Other survivors include his wife, Gayle; and five grandchildren.Bill Miller, 817-390-7684Twitter: @Bill_MillerST
Services
3 p.m. today at Lovers Lane United Methodist Church in Dallas
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