William Lloyd Barry

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William Lloyd Barry (December 20, 1916-July 2, 1999) was a Jehovah's Witness missionary and was most known for being on the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses.

[edit] Early life

Barry was born in New Zealand on December 20, 1916. His mother and father had earlier taken an active interest in the Bible truths presented in the publications of C. T. Russell, as distributed by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Hence, Barry came to know the faith during his growth.

[edit] Career

Though interested in sports and education, even earning a degree in science, Barry maintained remained focues on spiritual matters. On January 1, 1939, he took up the full-time ministry and became member of the "Bethel family", or a volunteer at the Watchtower branch office in Australia. After the government banned the work of Jehovah's Witnesses in 1941, Barry kept busy in office work, at times being assigned to write material for the encouragement of fellow believers. He also took a lead in the public ministry.

In February 1942, Barry married another full-time servant. His wife, Melba Jones Barry, faithfully worked alongside him in many parts of the earth. They took a major step toward service in foreign fields by attending the 11th class of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead in the United States. The were assigned as missionaries in Japan. After arriving in November 1949, they began serving in the seaport city of Kobe. At that time, only 12 Jehovah's Witnesses were active in Japan. Barry learned the language and ways of his new home and developed a deep affection for the Japanese people, with whom he served for the next 25 years. His love for those “rightly disposed for everlasting life” was clear to the growing Christian brotherhood in Japan, helping him to be effective in overseeing the branch for decades.

By mid-1975 there were some 30,000 Witnesses in Japan, so the Barrys were transferred to Brooklyn, New York. Barry had been invited to serve as a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. His writing experience proved very useful in his new role in the Writing Department. Additionally, his extensive branch and international experience equipped him to make a valuable contribution as a member of the Publishing Committee of the Governing Body.

Over the years, Barry retained his love for the Orient and its people. Students at Gilead, as well as members of the Bethel family recalled that his talks and comments would highlight heartwarming stories about many who had served in the missionary work. Some of these are mentioned in his personal account published in The Watchtower of September 15, 1960.

Barry died on July 2, 1999 during a visit in Hawaii for giving an invited talk at a district convention.

[edit] References

• Watchtower October 1, 1999, p. 16-7, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.
• Jehovah's Witnesses-Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993, p. 112, 116, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.