Leroy Miles Barber Jr.

Leroy M. Barber Jr., Colonel, U.S. Army (Ret.) COLUMBIA Funeral service for Leroy M. Barber Jr., Colonel, U.S. Army (Ret.), 80, will be held at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, May 17, 2015, at Union United Methodist Church, with burial at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, May 18, 2015, in Ft. Jackson National Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the church following the service. Dunbar Funeral Home, Dutch Fork Chapel, is assisting the family. Col. Barber passed away Saturday, May 9, 2015. He was born in 1935 in Worcester, Mass. but grew up in Rhode Island where his two sisters were born to Leroy and Harriet Barber. He graduated from Providence College in 1956 and at the same time was commissioned a 2Lt. in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps. A year later, he married the former Elizabeth “Betty” Kenyon and entered active duty. He had a variety of assignments which included being the commander of three medical companies and three battalions. Col. Barber served as the medical advisor to the 1st Vietnamese Corp during that conflict and later in the same capacity to the Saudi Army and Air Force. While in the Army, he earned a master’s degree in Hospital Administration from Baylor University and graduated from the Army Command and General Staff College. His last two assignments were as the administrator of army hospitals, the last one being Fort Jackson where he retired in 1984. Col. Barber’s military awards include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Vietnamese Honor Medal First Class, the Expert Field Medical Badge and the Master Parachutist Badge. Following his retirement, he became the administrator for the W. S. Hall Psychiatric Institute until 2000. He was a Fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives, was active in the S.C. Hospital Association and served as a university preceptor for students earning their master’s degree. He was a U.S. Coast Guard licensed master captain and an avid boater. He was a Past Commander of the Lake Murray Power Squadron and a Past President of the Lake Murray Association. In 1999, he married the former Deedie Faile Dukes. He was predeceased by his first wife, Betty Kenyon and his son, Kevin Barber. He is survived by his wife, Deedie Barber; a son, Keith Barber and his wife, Brenda; a daughter, Jennifer Barber; stepsons, Craig Dukes and his wife, Rhonda, Jon Dukes and his wife, Dawn, Jason Dukes and his wife, Esmeralda; and nine grandchildren, Bethany Barber, Dawn Barber, triplets, Chandler, Logan and Victoria Dukes, Coleman Dukes, Nicolette Dukes, Katelyn Dukes and Alexis Dukes. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in honor of Lee Barber to The Lake Murray Association, P.O. Box 495, Ballentine, SC 29002. Lee’s dedication to help form the association, his service as President, his dedication to safety on Lake Murray, and the fulfillment of his goal, the formation of the Safety Consortium made him a beloved and sacred steward of Lake Murray. Please sign the online guestbook at www.dunbarfunerals.com.