Barry Frederick Semple, 89, of Shrewsbury, passed away peacefully July 3, 2026, surrounded by his family.
Barry was born Aug. 26, 1936, in Bridgeton, the son of Bridgeton’s police chief, J. Fred Semple, and Gertrude Semple. A standout athlete at Bridgeton High School, he played football, baseball and basketball before earning a degree in education from Trenton State College and later a master’s degree in education administration from Eastern Michigan University.
Barry’s courtship with Audrey Robinson began in junior high school and their marriage lasted for 62 years, until Audrey passed away in 2019.
Barry devoted his career to education, with a particular passion for adult and continuing education. He began as a high school history teacher and football coach at Bridgeton High School before he and Audrey moved their family to Shrewsbury in 1970, where he became director of Monmouth County’s Adult Education Commission. He went on to serve as director of Adult, Continuing and Community Education for the State of New Jersey and, upon retiring from the state, became executive director of the Institute for Life Skills at Columbia Teachers College in Manhattan.
A leader in his field, Barry served on numerous boards, including the Monmouth County Workforce Development Board, the State Council for Adult Literacy Services, and the New Jersey Association of Lifelong Learning, where he served as president for several years. He also served as president of the board of education for Shrewsbury Borough School.
Barry took special pride in the fact that the New Jersey Association of Lifelong Learning named its annual award for Lifelong Leadership in adult education after him, a lasting tribute to his decades of service. The Barry Semple Lifelong Learning Leadership Award is presented annually to an outstanding individual or group demonstrating responsibility, influence, courage, motivation, inspiration, direction or guidance, who has made an outstanding contribution to lifelong learning through research, program design and development, publications, effective and innovative use of funds and service to the profession. The award remains one of NJALL’s most prestigious honors, a fitting and lasting tribute to the standard Barry set throughout his career.
Outside of work, Barry was an avid tennis player and a voracious reader. He was an active and devoted member of the Presbyterian Church in Shrewsbury, where he served in several capacities, including as a deacon and elder.
Above all, Barry cherished nothing more than time spent with his family. He is survived by his four children: John F. of Titusville; Elizabeth Ann of Pennington; Bruce W. of Northfield, Minnesota; and Katherine J. of Stafford, Vermont. He is also survived by his brother Russell of Naples, Florida, along with nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, July 10, at the Shrewsbury Presbyterian Church, 352 Sycamore Ave., Shrewsbury. Burial will follow at the Shrewsbury Presbyterian Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Presbyterian Church in Shrewsbury, or to the New Jersey Association for Lifelong Learning at njall.org/scholarship-information.
Thompson Memorial Home of Red Bank has been entrusted with the arrangements.
The article originally appeared in the July 9 – 15, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
