Ronald James Barber was born on May 14, 1938 in Gaylord, MI to Clayton Barber and Wanda Badgley Barber. God called him home at the age of 84 on November 26, 2022. Ronald (Ron) is survived by his wife Carol Barber, his son Micheal Barber, his daughters Rana Barber and Shalom Shoaf, his grandchildren Robert, Amber, Nathaniel, Enya, Mykala, and Aurora, and great-grandchildren Joseph, Addison, Nephi, Shaelynne, Rosalina, and Rivir; as well as his older brother Clayton Barber, Jr, younger sister Joy Meier, and brother Glendale Alfred (Glen) Barber. He is preceded in death by his brother Glen Adale age 4, and sisters Barbara Lucille Manchester and Darlene Dorothea Huffron. Ron and Carol met at Graceland College where Carol was studying to be a nurse and Ron was seeking a degree in religious studies. Ron joined the Army National Guard after Graceland College and served as a cook. Ron and Carol were married on October 26, 1964 in Independence, MO at the RLDS Auditorium in the little Chapel. They just celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary at his passing.
Ron worked for Allis Chalmers building combines until he retired. He worked as an inspector and machinist. Ron walked from his home on West Waldo in Independence, Mo to work everyday, wearing his steel toed boots, and carrying his lunch box. Ron and Carol bought the home because it was within walking distance of work, a church congregation, a grocery store, a park, an elementary school, a junior high, and a high school. And if we complained about having to walk to school, he would say we had it easy…growing up he had to walk to school “in a blizzard, uphill both ways.” As an added bonus, on his way to work Ron got to walk by the Temple Lot and Auditorium everyday.
During the hard years for the agriculture industry, Ron took on extra jobs to provide for his family. He worked for an electrician, a cabinet maker, selling Miracle Maid, and one year Ron fed his family with chickens. Ron bought live chickens and turned the kitchen into a butchers, dispatching, plucking, and cleaning the chickens. He was no stranger to this work. He and his brother Clayton raised rabbits as children in Gaylord, MI to help their family selling rabbits to the local grocery store.
Ron enjoyed working on his home both inside and out. He remodeled the upstairs raising the back roof after the tree with the tire swing fell on it due to strong winds, adding a 3rd floor dormer and a dormer out the front roof. He used the settlement money from the tree trimmers who did more damage to the roof than the tree itself. And he did the work himself with help from friends and his son Micheal, the beginnings of his love of construction. On more than one occasion we went up before school after a night of rain to bail water from the plastic meant to keep the main floor dry before Dad got the roof put on. Needless to say the plastic was not perfect and it “rained” on the main floor. Mom made sure that before the upstairs was finished the water damaged main floor ceilings and rooms were redone. And so began years of remodeling. Mom and Dad taught us to sheetrock, tape, mud, sand, wallpaper, stain, and paint as well as basic electrical and plumbing.
Ron was baptized as a boy in Michigan into the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints eventually being called to the priesthood office of Deacon. He enjoyed studying the “Three Books” (Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants). His favorite area of study was the life of Jesus Christ, and he wrote several papers on Jesus’s life. In Independence, he attended several congregations including Enoch Hill, Sterling Avenue, and Atherton. He attended World Conference every 2 years at the Auditorium and helped with the Conference Communion service. Ron was a member of the Mexican Epigraphic Society led by Neil Steede. He attended the Waldo Avenue Restoration Branch at his death.
Ron was an Boy Scout rising to the rank of Star. As a Scout he loved to camp, swim, and travel attending Piedmont Jamboree in Colorado. Ron and Carol shared their love of travel with their children. They would load the children into the car, usually with a top carrier covered by a brown canvas tarp, and took a family vacation every summer. One year we had a brown car with a CB radio and could listen to the truck drivers talk. There was a driver who boasted to his buddies about passing a car that looked like a “camel with a huge hump.” Even coming home from church on a sunny Sunday afternoon, Ron would like to take a “short cut” (which was code for the long scenic way). We eventually drove to all 48 continental United States camping in a tent along the way. We saw Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, the Redwoods, Pikes Peak, Niagra Falls, all the national historical sites, and of coarse the church historical sites like Nauvoo, Kirtland, and Palmyra. We learned to set up a tent, build a campfire, and cook over it. We swam in all 5 Great Lakes, the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and the Gulf of Mexico. And Ron got to hike down into the Grand Canyon and spend the night as well as run the rapids of the Royal Gorge before he got “too old” as Carol said. Ron and Carol also took the kids to Walt Disney World and Silver Dollar City. And they didn’t stop traveling after the kids were grown eventually making it to all 50 States. Ron and Carol took a 2nd honeymoon to Hawaii, cruised the Inside Passage of Alaska, traversed the Panama Canal, and cruised from New York City to Canada.
Ron loved his children and enjoyed being involved in their lives. He was involved in Scouts with Micheal and Indian Princesses with Rana and Shalom. He went on the campouts, the Derby races, the float trips, the hikes. If it was summer they took family bike rides or went swimming at the Campus. If It was winter and there was snow, they went sledding. Ron taught his children to drive on the back country roads of Atherton before their feet could even touch the pedals. And he attended the dance recitals, band and orchestra concerts, school plays, science fairs, bridge building projects, and proudly attended his children’s graduations.
Ron had many friends and was respected by those who knew him. He was always ready with a smile, a laugh, or a “dad” joke. He was also always ready to serve. He served at church, shoveled snow for the neighbors, gave rides when needed, fed the African delegation to World Conference, when called he answered. Ron will be missed by all that knew and loved him.
A Celebration of Life service will be held Saturday, December 17, 2022 at 3:00 pm at the Waldo Avenue Restoration Branch at 819 West Waldo Ave, Independence, MO 64050 with a Celebratory meal following the service. The service will also be live streamed online at WaldoAvenue-POZ on Livestream for those who cannot attend in person but wish to participate in spirit.
A memorial service for Ronald will be held Saturday, December 17, 2022 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM at Waldo Avenue Restoration Branch, 819 W. Waldo Ave. #2624, Independence, MO 64050.
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