George E. Barclay De Tolly

Newport, RI - George E. Barclay de Tolly, 84, of 10 Pell Street, Newport, RI, died Saturday, January 22, 2011 at Newport Hospital, Newport, RI. Born in Poznan, Poland on January 19, 1927, he was the son of the late Baron Erick and Baroness Alda Ruhlin Barclay de Tolly and the descendant of a noble Scottish family that immigrated to the city of Riga in 1621. From this line was born Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, Field Marshal of the Russian armies which defeated Napolean, ending the war of 1812. After WWII, George immigrated to Canada, graduating from the Electrical Engineering Department at The University of Toronto. In Toronto he met his future wife, Muriel Marie Gouthro. He earned his masters degree at Ohio State University where he was then hired by William B. Shockley Nobel Prize winner for the transistor as one of his first employees for the newly created Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Palo Alto, CA.After continued graduate work at Stanford University, George garnered various patents while working for the General Electric Company in California, Pittsfield, MA and Syracuse, NY. In 1967, he came to Newport to work at the Raytheon Company, and then retired in 1995 after 25 years as a scientist in the field of signal processing at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, RI.George was a devoted family man. He spoke numerous languages and was enthusiastic about European history, international folk music, and home renovation. He was a long time parishioner of St. Josephs Church, serving on the building and restoration committee. George enjoyed skiing as a member of the Newport Ski Club and loved sailing his boat Alda as a member of the Ida Lewis Yacht Club. George also had a lifelong fondness for his canine companions. He is survived by his former wife and close friend Muriel Barclay de Tolly of Newport; his children: Michael and companion Sandra Roseman of Newport, RI; Paul and his wife Brenda Brock Barclay de Tolly of Portsmouth, RI; Joanne Phillips and her husband Kevin of Jamestown, RI; Wanda and her husband Steven Benevides of Middletown, RI, Eric of Newport, RI, and Catherine Potter and her husband Michael of Middletown, RI; his sister Joanna Barclay de Tolly-Ozdowski and her husband Jan Ozdowski of Toronto, Canada; his grandchildren Erica Alexander Phillips, Brigitt Hodgkins, Lela Barclay de Tolly, Ellissa Caleb Barclay de Tolly, and Sydney Jackson Potter; and his longtime companion Susan Mailey.Calling hours will be held Thursday, January 27 from 4:00-8:00 PM in the Hambly Funeral Home Brick House 30 Red Cross Avenue, Newport.His funeral will be held on Friday, January 28, at 8:00 AM from the Hambly Funeral Home, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 9:00 AM in St. Josephs Church, Broadway Mann Avenue, Newport. Burial will be in Newport Memorial Park in Middletown.Memorial donations may be made to the Autism Society of RI, PO Box 16603, Rumford, RI 02916 http://www.asa-ri.org/ or to the Robert Potter League For Animals, PO Box 412, Newport, RI 02840 http://potterleague.org/.