Dexter Sherwood passed away at home on April 16 at the age of 87 from natural causes.

He was one of the former owners of Orcas Island’s once famous Bartel’s Resort along with a seafood restaurant, a gas station and other businesses during the 1970s and early 1980s.

He was born and raised in Suffern, N.Y., served with Uncle Sam in the Navy as an aviation radio technician, then obtained a degree in mechanical engineering at Clarkston University. He worked in management for American Brake Shoe Company and then as president of Victor Fluid Power Inc. a manufacturer of hydraulic pumps, valves and cylinders, prior to moving to Orcas.

He was an incorrigible fisherman and obtained his charter boat captain’s license while on Orcas. After leaving Orcas, he moved to Friday Harbor and opened The Wood Butcher – a wood working, refinishing and cabinetry shop. Then, in 1997 he moved to Belize for a while prior to retiring on his daughter Dana’s small acreage on the Frio River in Texas.

He loved wine, women and song and left this earth still strong, and determined. Dexter donated his body to science through the University of Texas Medical School.