Anthony “Tony” Barton

Anthony “Tony” Barton, age 89, passed away the evening of February 22, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was born November 26, 1934 in Paris, France to Richard Barton and Lillian Kerry.  As a very young child he travelled by ship to the United States with his mother and sister in an effort to escape the dangers of World War II. When the family arrived in New York City, Tony initially spent some time with a generous host family, but eventually lived with his sister and mother. Throughout his life, Tony often reminisced and spoke fondly of certain times in NYC such as unsupervised roller skating during a storm with his sister, being thoughtfully asked what he wanted for breakfast every morning by his host family or being given sweets on a regular basis by a neighborhood shop simply because the owners found him to be a polite and charming little boy.  He also spent less favorable times in various boarding schools throughout New England as a result of the instability of the times and the separation of his parents.

Tony’s early love of language and poetry combined with the adventures and hardships he faced in childhood led him to an interest in psychology. At the young age of 17 years, he began his studies at Ohio Wesleyan University. After graduation he made his way to Illinois to graduate school at the University of Chicago, eventually obtaining his Ph.D. in 1964.

In 1960, he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as one of the founding faculty members of the Duquesne University Psychology Department. There he helped create an internationally recognized graduate program devoted to an Existential Phenomenological approach to therapy and counselling, stressing the importance of the individual life-world of the person and all the possibilities therein, rather than focusing on the person merely as a fixed and limited constellation of symptoms. For 59 years, Tony enthusiastically taught students from this perspective, supervised therapists in training, and counseled hundreds of clients over the years in his private psychotherapy practice. Throughout his life, personally and professionally, he never stopped learning. He studied Gestalt Psychology, hypnotherapy, group and family therapies, and Buddhism to name a few. He even helped out on local animal rescues and adoptions. He authored two books and lived and breathed what he taught. He touched thousands of lives.

He is survived by his wife of nearly 25 years, Carolyn DeForest, his sister, Anne Klemme, his children, Christopher Barton, Catherine Peters, Gregory Barton, Theresa Sabatini, Karl Barton, Timothy Barton, and Allison Barton. He is also survived by 21 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren. He will be missed beyond words.

At his request there will be no services. All arrangements were entrusted to Pittsburgh Cremation and Funeral Care, Robinson Township.