James Raymond Barber

James Raymond (Jim) Barber, 80, of Chandler, Arizona, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on Thursday, September 19, 2019.

Jim was born in Prosser, Washington. He graduated from Prosser High School in 1957 and joined the United States Marine Corps. On May 17, 1958, he married Shirley Brumbaugh in Hernando, Mississippi.

After his honorable discharge from the Marine Corps in 1961, Jim worked as an electronics technician in the aircraft industry for North American Aviation, in Anaheim, California and Boeing in Seattle, Washington. In 1964 he moved his family to Prosser while he took a two-year assignment for RCA in Thule, Greenland to work on a ballistic missile early warning system project. Upon his return to Prosser, he worked as an electronics technician on nuclear reactors at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation for General Electric and Atlantic Richfield until 1969.

He left the nuclear industry at that point to join his father in farming dry land wheat on the Horse Heaven Hills above Prosser. In 1980 Jim gave up farming to return to the nuclear industry starting with Westinghouse at Hanford as an Instrument Specialist for the Fast Flux Test Facility. He left Westinghouse in 1982 to pursue contract work for nuclear plants around the United States as an Instrument & Controls (I&C) Startup Engineer.

In his later years Jim switched from nuclear engineering to procedure writing that included administrative procedures detailing new integrated work management processes and preventive maintenance instructions at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. He also prepared and facilitated training on I&C basics, compressed air system basics, and integrated work management processes. Jim relocated to Arizona with his wife in 2005. He continued work as a procedure writer and trainer in the nuclear industry until 2015. During his career in the electronics and nuclear industries he held a Q Clearance with the Department of Energy and a Secret Clearance with the Department of Defense.

Jim was a member of the Masons Euclid Lodge 125 in Prosser, Washington since 1967 and a Past Master of that lodge since 1974.

He is preceded in death by his parents John Vern Barber and W. Berenice (Evans) Barber.

He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Shirley (Brumbaugh) Barber, his three daughters, Cynthia West, Pam Goux, and Beth Ivins, sisters Patti Roberts and Nancy Dolph, and granddaughters Lindsay Ivins, Kelly Ivins, Claire Goux, and Emma West.

A celebration of life event will take place at Brookdale North Chandler (2555 N Price Rd, Chandler, AZ 85224) on Sunday, October 13th from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM with remarks from family and friends at 3:30 PM. Interment of ashes with military honors will take place at Valley of the Sun Cemetery in Chandler, Arizona on Friday, October 18th at 2:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations in Jim’s name be made to MDS-foundation.org. Donation acknowledgements can be entered on the site to Shirley Barber, 168 E Grove Ave., Mesa, AZ 85210.