Charles M. Barringer Jr., 66, world traveler

Charles M. Barringer Jr. made a home in Africa through oil exploration, earned global recognition in Zeiss optics research, and was long involved with a South Jersey chapter of the American Field Service student-exchange program.

But what set him apart from other people involved in foreign affairs, according to those who knew him, was his friendship.

Mr. Barringer, 66, of Haddonfield, died of esophageal cancer Tuesday, April 6, at his home.

From the local grocery cashier who cried that he was "not just a customer, he was my friend," according to his wife, to a fellow Zeiss optics enthusiast who wrote on his blog, "Damn, Charlie was a really good friend," many who knew Mr. Barringer shared the same sentiment.

A world traveler fluent in at least three languages, Mr. Barringer saw no barrier in any person or place, said his wife, Therese. When they visited other countries, they stayed in remote areas and did whatever the locals did.

"He had a spirit of discovery, that's for sure," she said.

As a senior at Tower Hill School in Wilmington, he was captivated by Belgian exchange student Therese Overloop, and they fell in love.

He received a bachelor's degree in modern languages in 1966 from what is now Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., and went on to receive an international business degree from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona.

The Barringers married in 1967, and the next year he got a sales and marketing job with Texaco, which took them to Puerto Rico for a year and then West Africa for eight years. The couple's three children were born in Africa.

While living in Africa, the couple traveled frequently, and Mr. Barringer, an avid photographer, learned about Zeiss, a high-end German optics manufacturer, and began collecting Zeiss objects, from microscopes to telescopes.

In 1978, the couple returned to the United States and settled in Haddonfield. Mr. Barringer was in charge of sales to Africa for Cherry Hill-based Langston Corp. through 1985.

He cofounded the Zeiss Historica Society in 1980 and served as president throughout the 1990s, said cofounder and current president Larry Gubas of Las Vegas.

Mr. Barringer was instrumental in publishing a 16-page newsletter, which grew into the current 24-page biannual edition. At its height, the Zeiss society had 600 members worldwide.

After Langston, a packaging manufacturing company, went bankrupt in the mid-1980s, Mr. Barringer started a business offering tours of Philadelphia's historical areas in various languages, his wife said. He was fluent in French and Spanish and pretty good with Italian and German.

Since Therese Barringer had been an AFS exchange student, the couple became involved in the service's local chapter after settling in Haddonfield.

Mr. Barringer, who was chapter treasurer for many years, became like another father to many exchange students, said Linda Woolston, president of the Garden State South chapter.

"Their house was always open," she said. "They touched so many people and helped so many kids."

In addition to his wife, Mr. Barringer is survived by sons Christopher and Cedric; daughter Delphine; his parents, Charles M. and Mary Pratt Barringer; four grandchildren; and two sisters.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 17, at the Haddonfield Friends Meeting.