Dear Students, Instructors, Directors and Officers
It is with great sadness to receive the news that Dave Barrett passed away so suddenly and unexpectedly. I want to expressed my deepest condolences to his family and students.
My grandfather and I first met Dave in 1993. His first time to China with us was in 1995 and for the past 22 years, Dave has attended every event to China sponsored by our Association. In 2005, Dave became a disciple of my grandfather, Grandmaster Yang Zhenduo. Besides being the Director of the Yang Chengfu Tai Chi Chuan Canter in Portland, Dave was listed in the Association’s Instructors Registry as a certified instructor for the Association’s Teachers Academy and held Rank 6 of the Golden Tiger.
Dave was one of the founding Directors of our Association and devoted much of his time and effort in helping our Association grow and develop into the blossoming organization it has become today. Dave was Association’s first Tai Chi Chuan Journal editor. Since 2001, for the past 16 years, he performed his role as editor faithfully and competently and was effective in promoting Tai Chi Chuan from interviews of Tai Chi Chuan masters and practitioners, editing articles on Tai Chi Chuan by masters and practitioners, and by providing news about Association events and activities. At the many Association events he attended, he was always there to help with announcements, organizing the students to line up for practice and much more.
Dave’s passing is a tremendous loss to our Association and a great loss to our Tai Chi Chuan family. We will always remember him fondly in our hearts.
Sincerely,
Yang Jun
President
International Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan Association.