MY EDMONDS NEWS Posted: June 23, 2021
May 12, 1923 – June 17, 2021
Longtime Ketchikan and Edmonds resident Jean Barry passed away peacefully in Edmonds on June 17, 2021. She was 98. Jean was born Jean McGillvray on May 12, 1923 in Seattle to Blanche and Clyde McGillvray. She moved to Ketchikan in 1927 at the age of four when her father joined his brother Max to work at Libe’s Cabinet Shop. Her father was a talented carpenter who went right to work helping construct homes and buildings throughout Ketchikan, eventually purchasing the business from Libe in 1937 to form McGillvray Bros. General Contractors.
Jean’s entire K-12 education transpired at Main School in Ketchikan, where she graduated from Kayhi in 1941. She was an accomplished musician and performed for family, friends, church, and community throughout her life. With the gift of absolute pitch, she started playing the piano at the early age of 3, picking up melodies by ear. Music was her focus during her school y