Ian Lewis Barr M.D.

“Never take life too seriously, nobody gets out alive anyway”

      Ian Lewis Barr passed away on September 25, 2025 at the age of 83. A proud father of 4 (Peter, Hayley, Lucy and Andrew) and grandfather of 7 (Chloe, Olivia, Dylan, Madeline, Akasha, Deven and Adelaide), he passed away peacefully in his home in Portland, OR. He was surrounded in his last days by his children and grandchildren grieving together, sharing stories and honoring moments of connection and inspiration. This didn’t feel as much like a goodbye as it felt like a thank you.

      Ian was born in 1942 in Sydney, Australia where he spent his childhood with his brother, Peter, and his parents Phyllis (Cohen) Barr and Allan Lewis Barr, who ran Hoyt’s theater.  He was a proud son and avid lover of great films and books, as well as philosophy and of course, medicine.

      We thank him for selflessly sharing medical knowledge and life advice with so many patients, family and friends with a refreshing directness, wit and a well-timed sense of humor. His skills as a medical doctor were appreciated worldwide in Australia, New Zealand, Germany and the US. His patients appreciated his ability to streamline complicated matters with perspective, insight, kindness and empathy. His legacy within the community is also remarkable. He served as the first resident at St. Vincent hospital in Portland, where his daughter Lucy also got to spend time during her medical training. He served as the president of the Oregon Society of Internal Medicine & clinical assistant professor of medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University. 

       Of course, honoring Ian wouldn’t be complete without praising his golf game. Although he was high school shot put champion and captain of the Scotch College cricket team in Adelaide, golf became his game. He was known to sink critical puts including one while playing with world famous cricket player, Sir Donald Bradman. He played top golf courses across the US and Europe with countless trophies from his time at Berchtesgaden lining his bookshelf, still holding the record there of 62. He enjoyed his solitude on the golf course as well as his time in nature and we all have fond memories of ‘mizzly’ days on the Oregon coast and family hikes into the Cascade mountains with lakeside picnics.

      We continue to cherish his kind, gentle, contemplative, modest, non-judgmental and peaceful approach to life along with his appreciation of the fine things in life in their simplest form. His family will take his ashes to the Sydney harbor near Camp Cove, where he grew up to join his mother, Nana Phyl. It feels true that love keeps growing after death as our gratitude continues to percolate in. He will forever be with us. Perhaps he now has God’s acknowledgement of the ‘unwitnessed’ hole-in-one that day in the rain.