Timothy G. Barritt was born November 30, 1949, to Keith and Barbara (Giffin) Barritt in Belle Fourche, SD. He was brought home to Upton, WY to a little house on 6th Street and in 1959 moved to a new house on the corner of 6th and Pine Street where he would grow up with his brother Tom playing in the timber with all the rest of the gang that lived along Pine Street.The brothers would also work for their Dad out of the garage in what would later become Barritt’s Pallet Shop.

Tim attended Upton Schools and excelled as both a student and an athlete. His name can be seen on the Balfour Plaque in Upton High School. In the fall of 1966 Yvonne Materi told Tim that he had one last chance to be her boyfriend. He took that chance and upon graduating from Upton High School in 1968 he married Yvonne. Tim attended South Dakota Tech (School of Mines) on a football scholarship for one year after graduating and then transferred to the University of Wyoming to study Petroleum Engineering. In 1970, the first of their four children was born. They named him Loren. And in 1972 Heather was born. Tim would graduate from UW in 1973 and he and Yvonne and the kids moved to Midland/Odessa, TX where Tim went to work for Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) as a Drilling Engineer. His career start was a trial by fire as the “boom” was on, and he was always enormously proud of having survived it. Tim and Yvonne met several lifelong friends in Texas that they still stayed connected with at the time of his passing.

In 1975 Tim’s father-in-law, Lawrence Materi offered to bring him back to Upton as an Engineer/Manager at Materi Exploration. He again took a chance, loaded up the U-Haul, and headed north. Later that year (one day after his own birthday) Brian was born. Materi Exploration became Tim’s passion and labor of love for the next 15 years. He worked with many of Upton’s finest during this time and would forever be praised and respected for his effort and ability to “manage a crisis.” Also, during this time, Tim and Yvonne started construction and moved into the house that would be “home” for their family south of Upton. In 1979 the baby of the family was born. They named her Mindy. Tim would establish himself as a very well known and respected engineer in the 80’s running all over the Rocky Mountain Region and Western United States undertaking various water, mineral, and energy exploration projects. Even though he was extremely busy, he always found time to take his family boating at Keyhole, to the cabin in the Big Horns, or if the kids were “good” they might make a run to Elitch Gardens in Denver! He also found time to serve on the Upton School Board for many years and eventually ascended to President of the Wyoming State School Board Association.

Around 1990 Materi Exploration sold out and Tim started a new company with his brother-in-law Steve Hampton called Soda Butte Services. They had secured a Port-a-Drill TKT along with a Port-a-Drill 524 and with the help of Keith Materi, again sought water, mineral, and energy exploration jobs far and wide. In addition, professional engineering consulting started to become a larger emphasis in Tim’s career. Water development started to take center stage. In the late 90’s Tim would again take that chance and head out on his own to start Tyvo Drilling while continuing with his engineering consulting endeavors. The jobs were becoming larger, and Tim would enjoy overseeing major municipal water supply projects all over the region. Drilling continued to be his specialty, and he continued to work very hard. One of the benefits of all this activity included opportunities for his boys, Loren and Brian, to easily acquire great jobs with the company on the rigs! Heather and Mindy made it very known to their Dad that this did not seem fair! All this hard work provided for a lot of fun family experiences.

Lake life continued to be one of the bigger enjoyments and his kids have many stories to share regarding those days. This all continued into the 2000’s and beyond with Yvonne at his side encouraging him to keep taking those chances. Grandkids became a large part of Tim’s life in the 2000’s as well. He would affectionately forever be known as Big Pa to all of them and even quite a few of his extended family members. It was now the norm for him to completely destroy anyone who dared to try to hang on to the big tube behind the Glastron 225 despite the objections of his now parent children!

Big Pa had unlimited patience for teaching kids to water ski, ride motorcycles, or simply watching the rough housing go on in his big room at the house. He loved watching his kids and grandkids activities and was a diehard Upton Bobcats fan. He rarely missed a playoff game or state tournament. He also rooted for the Wyoming Cowboys and spent many beautiful Saturdays in Laramie with friends and family. Tim helped teach his kids, their spouses, and many others how to two steps and waltz even though he always said it was difficult because Yvonne would always try to lead. He loved a good argument and particularly liked to throw hook, line, and sinker to Yvonne, Loren, his brother Tom, nephew Cody, and Joe Olson. They all bit virtually every time and found out that for some reason, somehow, Tim was never wrong! He made a mean bloody Mary and if you happened to hug him, you’d better prepare for some severe back slapping and roughing up! He loved all things hot and spicy and could pop jalapeno peppers like tic tacs! His affliction with late night skunk hunting was alive and well right up until the end. Opinions vary as to why there were always so many skunks at his house.

The cabin in the Big Horns was always calling as well. During their trips up there, Yvonne was a worthy opponent taking Tim on in competitive games of upward. He was proud of the fact that at most wedding receptions, he and Yvonne were always the last ones on the dance floor when they did the “most years married” dance. In the end, he fought valiantly against the cancer that had riddled his body but gave up on April 8, 2026. He never complained but rather just moved forward.

He is survived by his wife of nearly 58 years, Yvonne, his four children; Loren Barritt (Marsha), Heather Butts, Brian Barritt (Kimberly), Mindy Todd (Travis), nine grandchildren; Davis Butts, Dawson Butts, Dillon Barritt (Madison), Reece Barritt, Wyatt Mundell, Victoria Barritt, Houston Todd, Elsie Todd, Theo Todd and two great grandchildren; Cooper Barritt and Baby Barritt. His family misses him dearly…Husband, Dad, hero, helper, best friend, mentor…Big Pa!

The Barritt family would like to thank all of Tim’s doctors and nurses along the way, particularly the care staff at Weston County Memorial Hospital. They would also like to thank Tom Barritt, Keith Materi, and Judy Kosola for their constant help over the last few years.

Rosary will be held at 6:00-7:00PM Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at St. Anthony Catholic Church. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30AM Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at the Upton Community Center. Burial will follow the service at Greenwood Cemetery.

Cremation Arrangements are under the care of Isburg Crematory of Spearfish. Online condolences may be written at https://www.fidler-isburgfuneralchapels.com/