Born May 30, 1942 in Pittsburgh, PA, he was the son of the late William George Barbin and Lois Richards Barbin. He attended Baldwin High School in Pittsburgh, then graduated from North Carolina Wesleyan College (1967), where he played on the basketball and golf teams.
For all the fond memories, friendships, and the sports that Dave managed to pack into his 77 years, there was no greater love than that which he had for family and friends (too many to mention).
Olde Providence Racquet Club was his favorite place to spend time. He was known for his quick wit and general love for those in his company. Dave never met a stranger. His personality served him well in both medical sales and real estate. But his greatest notoriety came through as a tennis player where he and his partner, Karl Coombes, won numerous state doubles titles (often playing down and besting younger age groups). When Coombes, an Australian touring pro (80th in the world at one time) and the former coach of the Charlotte Heat, was asked by a local reporter, "How good this Barbin was?," Coombes replied, “Damned good, mate! Runs around out there and hits everything back. You don’t think they’re going to hit it to me, do you?”
Dave, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a rabid Steelers fan, had the garage to prove it. He once (this was pre-Uber) begged a game day ride home from Manzetti’s Tavern with a local off-duty policeman who also hailed from the Steel City. “Officer, I think I may have been 'over cheered' this afternoon," Barbin said. When the officer made his drop and watched him open his garage door he was treated to a display of pennants, autographed photos, and Iron City beer signs. The walls of the garage were covered in the black and gold. “This is great,” Barbin’s ‘ride’ said. “Hell, I thought you were just too cheap to take a cab. You really are a Steelers fan!”
Of all the Barbin stories, of which there are many, the one that he most treasured was the one where his best friend of 56 years Bob Cairns, a sportswriter, agreed to take him along (as a faux “photographer”) to Pittsburgh to cover his beloved Steelers, a story that would feature an interview with Barbin’s hero Bill Cowher. This assignment adventure ended at the end of a horrible day---plane delays, lost luggage, misdirections to Cowher’s childhood home in Crafton, PA, with writer and “photographer” finally locating the home where Cowher’s father promised to meet them. “I’m a big guy and I’ll be sitting on the front porch,” he said. Finally, after getting tied up in Friday evening Pittsburgh traffic they spotted their host. The writer and photographer hustled up the steps, apologized profusely and were led by Mr. Cowher to the back of the house where they found themselves in a kitchen that looked like it had just been hit by an atomic bomb. “This is the project,” their host said. Barbin was snapping photos of this war scene, the writer pulled his cassette recorder and said, “Won’t take much of your time, just want to ask you a few questions about what Bill was like as a kid.” The host looked at them and said, “You aren’t the tile guys? I was waiting for a bid from two tile guys for my kitchen. If you TWO are looking for Laird Cowher, he’s one block up, big guy sits on his front porch a lot!”
Dave Barbin enjoyed more laughs in his life than the average Late Night TV audience. But this was the one he would never forget. He and his friend left the demolished kitchen, sat on the front steps of that little row house and laughed until they cried.
He is survived by his daughter, Christine Barbin Senn (Carl Arthur Senn); son, David George Barbin Jr.; four adored grandchildren, Katherine Diane Senn, Alexander David Senn, Stella Grace Barbin, Noah Powell Barbin; and sister, Susan Barbin Koontz.
He is preceded in death by his brother-in-law, Kenneth Anthony Koontz.
There will be a private family service held Friday, November 15, 2019. Friends are invited to Olde Providence Racquet Club, 5630 Sharon View Rd., Charlotte, NC on Saturday, November 16, 2019 for cheers from 4:00-6:00 pm.
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