Dr. LOUIS H. BARNETT

November 22, 1918 - November 15, 2020

The Barnett family requests everyone joining us virtually sign the memorial register so we may have a record of everyone participating: https://forms.gle/UfU2bZUfzb4rXNey8 Louis H. “Lou” Barnett passed away Sunday afternoon, November 15, 2020, one week shy of his 102nd birthday. SERVICE: A committal service will be held privately on Tuesday in Ahavath Sholom Cemetery. MEMORIALS: In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations may be made in his memory to Congregation Ahavath Sholom, the Jewish Federation of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, Hadassah, or the Barnett Institute at Northeastern University. Born November 22, 1918 in Malden, Massachusetts, Lou was the son of Max and Mollie Barnett. He wanted nothing more than to be remembered as Husband, Father, Grandfather, Great- Grandfather, Uncle and Friend. “Family First” is the rule he lived by. Lou was devoted to his wife of 66 years, Madlyn of blessed memory, and was always quoted as saying he was a “one-woman man.” He loved and enjoyed his three children, Laurie, Eliot, and Rhoda, who returned his love in full measure. He loved being with his “Dingbat Club”, his six adored grandchildren whom he took to breakfast many weekend mornings at the Fort Worth Club, screaming all the way the song “Downtown” and then going to feed the ducks. Nothing brought him more joy in the last few years than seeing his three precious great-granddaughters Mia, Maddie, and Blake. A true renaissance man, Lou’s interests were many and varied. From fine wine to hunting, cooking to travel, reading to fishing - he loved them all. A connoisseur of fine wines he was very proud to be an Officer Commander of the distinguished Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, the order that has 12,000 Chevaliers worldwide. As the author of two cookbooks, he said he learned to cook in self-defense because “Madlyn could burn water.” His most beloved dish – barbecued salami, was sought after by everyone who ever tasted it. Lou and his wife travelled the world with a special love of Acapulco (where they went yearly to recharge their batteries), cruising and Israel. They visited synagogues around the world and amassed a collection of dolls from every country they visited. He was a pioneer and early builder of the State of Israel, lending his business expertise to many an industry. He knew and worked alongside many of the country’s leaders – Golda Meir, David Ben Gurion, Yitzhak Rabin, Levi Eshkol and Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek among others. Lou’s three greatest passions were dogs, Cuban cigars and good Cognac. He developed a love for raising, showing and judging dogs from his very first German Shepherd, Prince Rex King, through his last devoted companion yellow lab, Casey. Smoking cigars to the end, he would cut them in half and then smoke both pieces to follow his doctor’s suggestion that he cut his smoking in half. And everywhere where he went, his friends and associates had a good bottle of Courvoisier waiting for him. His achievements were many. He founded the plastics company LOMA Plastics (LO for Lou and MA for Madlyn) in 1948 which he later sold to Standard Oil of Ohio in 1966. He held 87 patents and among his many plastics innovations were the first plastic outdoor trashcan, first oval-shaped wastebasket, first wastebasket with decorative imprinting embossed on it, first plastic clothes hamper and the first polyethylene “boat-like” baby bath, followed by a complete line of stylized nursery accessories including the covered diaper pail. Unable to afford college, he took as many chemistry courses around Boston as he could. Ultimately, he graduated from Northeastern University with a double degree in engineering and management, but only after his bride, Madlyn, made him go back and take a few of the required but boring English classes. He later received honorary doctorates from both Northeastern and TCU. One of his proudest moments was when he and his family endowed the Barnett Institute for Chemical and Biological Analysis at Northeastern University. An active member of its board, he enjoyed watching it grow and become a preeminent research institution heavily involved in mapping the human genome. Well know philanthropists, he and Madlyn believed in giving back, not only monetarily but of themselves. Besides their commitment to Northeastern and Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, where they dedicated both the Ella Brachman Rehabilitation Garden and the Madlyn Barnett Healing Garden, was of great importance to them. Lou served as president of Congregation Ahavath Sholom, B’nai Brith and the Jewish Federation of Fort Worth and Tarrant County. He has served on numerous boards within the Jewish community and the community at-large on local, national and international levels including Cook Children’s Hospital, TCU, the Van Cliburn Foundation, Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, Casa Manana, Tarrant County United Fund, the Fort Worth Opera Association, Harris Methodist Health Foundation, the American Association of Ben Gurion, Tel Aviv University and the American Friends of Hebrew University. Among the awards he received in recognition of his service, he was named the B’nai Brith Man of the Year for the Jewish Community of Fort Worth. Along with his wife, Lou received the B'nai B'rith International Gold Medallion Humanitarian Award, the Israel bonds Prime Ministers Medal, the National Council of Christian and Jews Brotherhood Citation and the Fort Worth Family of the Year Award presented by the greater Fort Worth Family Services. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife, brother, Stanley, sister-in-law and brothers-in law, Fay and Leon Brachman and Milton Hamill, and niece and nephew, Ellen Brachman and Dr. Alan Hamill. SURVIVORS: Lou is survived by children, Laurie and Lon Werner, Eliot and Sheryl Barnett, and Rhoda and Howard Bernstein; grandchildren, Jeffrey and Jason and Jessica Werner, Matthew and Natalie and Emily Bernstein, Jessica and Matthew Whiteman and Nathan Barnett; great grandchildren Mia and Blake Werner and Maddie Bernstein; sister Ruth Hamill; sister-in-law, Myra Barnett; nieces Harriet Anton, Debbie Rice, Wendy Fisher and Melissa Barnett; nephews, Marshall Brachman and Marc Barnett; and numerous great-nieces and great-nephews, cousins and friends. He is also survived by devoted caretakers, Rachel Killingsworth, Kayla Sanders, Gloria Moore and Lany Tjahjadi, who gave him love and devoted care for many years. A recording of Dr. Barnett’s service is viewable here: https://video.ibm.com/channel/23862412/video/8pu3aj