Barry Allen Sykes

Barry Allen Sykes, our beloved "Papa Bear," age 74, passed away peacefully at Dublin Methodist Hospital surrounded by his loving family on Tuesday, February 15, 2022. He was born on February 18, 1947 in Akron, Ohio to the late Harry and Lois (Smith) Sykes.

He will be greatly missed by wife Jean "Jeannie" (McWilliams) Sykes; son Brian Sykes, his wife Angela (King); grandchildren Brianna, Allen, Micah, and Katherine Sykes; sister Kathleen Sykes-Gothe; niece Kristin (Gothe) Bass, her husband Chris, their four children Tiernan, Sloan, Lincoln, and Maren; and the numerous cousins, other family members, neighbors, and friends he leaves behind.

Barry earned an Associates Degree in Commercial Art from the University of Akron, and spent a lot of his young adult years as an aspiring artist, creating paintings in the process that are still treasured by his family to this day. He often spoke of his art professor, Edwin Sernoff, as a source of inspiration and creativity.

He spent the majority of his career in field service for various industrial automotive companies, logging thousands of miles of field service calls, going wherever he was needed to fix the vehicles that keep our country running. Whether at work or at home, Barry was a natural-born "wrench turner" and always enjoyed getting his hands dirty.

Barry took pride in being involved in his son Brian's life, serving multiple years as Tribal Chief for the YMCA Indian Guides and as an Assistant Scoutmaster in Boy Scouts, going on many weekend campouts and canoe trips to Michigan and Canada. He also attended numerous football games, wrestling matches, band concerts, and theater performances, and was always there with the camcorder at the ready.

Although he was an Akron U alum, Barry became an avid Buckeye fan. He and Jeannie attended the Rose Bowl, the Final Four in Atlanta, and enjoyed many years of OSU football and Basketball as season ticket holders.

In his later years, Barry and Jeannie did a lot of traveling, from Alaska, to California, to Mexico, to Canada, to the Carribean, to Disney World with the kids, and eventually, the grandkids. He always loved the beach, and whether it was the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Kiawah Island, South Carolina, Hilton Head Island South Carolina, or anywhere else, he enjoyed many hours relaxing under an umbrella with a good book and the sea breeze in his face.

He is preceded in death by nephews Dirk and Stefan Gothe, who no doubt got the party started as soon as he arrived in heaven.

Funeral Service will be held at 4 PM on Monday, February 21, 2022 at SCHOEDINGER NORTHWEST, 1740 Zollinger Road, Upper Arlington, Ohio 43221, where visitation will be held from 2-4 PM. Graveside Service will be held at 10 AM on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 at Union Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio.

For those unable to attend in person, a webcast of the service will be viewable at https://webcasts.lifetributes.com/1195422 .