Otis Alvin Barge Jr. followed his dad's path to college and into the business world. He studied at Georgia Tech and, after a stint in the Navy, returned to Atlanta.
Otis Alvin Barge Sr. helped him start a general contracting business, Strother-Barge Company, which later became Barge and Company.
The firm built numerous Atlanta landmarks that include: Park Place on Peachtree; the Atlanta Marriott Suites Midtown; the Freedom Hall complex at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change; and MARTA's Oakland City transit station.
His business earned a name for itself because of a motto embraced for any project, be it a marvelous hotel or a waste-water treatment plant, said a son, John Milton Barge of Atlanta.
"He enjoyed doing it right the first time, and he enjoyed doing the right thing," he said. "He especially enjoyed building for folks who valued the quality and integrity that he brought to the project. Developers would often select him for that reason."
Last Saturday, Otis Alvin Barge Jr. of Atlanta suffered a bad fall and never regained consciousness. He died Wednesday at Hospice Atlanta due to a severe blow to the brain. He was 90.
A graveside service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Westview Cemetery, followed by a noon memorial at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church. H.M. Patterson & Son, Spring Hill Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.
In 1941, the sixth-generation Atlantan graduated with a degree in architectural engineering from Tech, where he had been in the Naval ROTC. He was called to active duty and served in the Pacific and elsewhere. He attained the rank of lieutenant commander before an honorable discharge and returned home.
In 1945, Strother-Barge Company was founded and soon became a sought-after contracting business. His buildings blanket metro Atlanta and beyond the city limits and can be found on the campuses of Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia, Spelman College and other institutions. He built the president's house at The Westminster Schools and worked on major department stores and high-rise residential towers. He retired in 1990 and the business was sold.
"Dad believed in excellence in every aspect of his business," said his daughter, Betsy Barge Birkholz of Atlanta. "That included coming in on time and under budget. He was highly respected for the quality of his projects."
The builder was a past trustee of Reinhardt University and the Georgia Tech Alumni Association. He enjoyed golf, gardening and travels with Betty Fleetwood Barge, his wife of 67 years. He was especially proud of being an Eagle Scout.
"He always said, ‘I am an Eagle Scout, not was one,' " his son said.
Survivors other than his wife, son and daughter include another son, Kelly Barge of Atlanta; 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
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