Harold Emerson Barker Jr's Obituary
Harold Barker of Lakeland, Florida, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Thursday,
March 7, 2024. He was 98.
Harold was born on Easter Sunday, April 12, 1925, in Burlington, Vermont to Harold and Lucy
(Barton) Barker Sr. As a youth he worked for Western Union, delivering telegrams, including singing telegrams, by bicycle in Washington DC.
He joined the Navy in June of 1943 and served on the USS Stockton. In March of 1945 Stockton’s
group was attacked by four suicide planes which sank the escort carrier Bismarck Sea.
At the end of the war Stockton sailed from Japan to New York via Singapore and Cape Town. Harold
particularly enjoyed the stopover in Cape Town, where he was able to climb Table Mountain.
Just before discharge he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and was treated at several US Naval
Hospitals. Harold attended King’s College (which was in Delaware at the time) where he met his future wife, Julia Barnhill. While in school they both worked at a canning factory. They married in Philadelphia
in June of 1950. They were married for seventy-two years before her death in March of 2022.
He earned a Masters Degree at the University of Delaware and briefly taught at Norwich University
in Northfield Vermont before moving to Sudbury Massachusetts and joining Raytheon as an
electrical engineer.
Harold enjoyed several leisure pursuits. He played recorder with the Imperial Polk Consort, performing at many concerts in Lakeland and also at Disney (in medieval costume!). He and Julia had an award-winning garden in Sudbury. He enjoyed boating – he had a canoe with a sail. He joined Community Botong in Boston and sailed Cape Cod Mercurys on the Charles River. He was also active in The US Power Squadrons and taught their Celestial Navigation Course. Using a design from one of the magazines of the 1950s (Ladies Home Journal or Better Homes and Gardens) he made multiple doll houses. The first one was for his daughter Edna and had a working fireplace. It was then passed on to his granddaughter.
We are grateful for all the comforting care provided by Good Shepherd Hospice and Home Instead.
He was active until the end, hosting his last “Waffle Wednesday” with friends and family the day
before his death. He even managed to eat some waffle!
He is survived by two of his children, David and Daniel, his daughter-in-law Sandra, and
grandchildren Laura and Kevin and his granddog Bowser. He was preceded in death by his wife
Julia and his daughter Edna and his two sisters, Mary and Eleanor.
The family will have an open house at home to celebrate his life on Sunday, March 24 from 1:30 to
4:00
What’s your fondest memory of Harold?
What’s a lesson you learned from Harold?
Share a story where Harold's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Harold you’ll never forget.
How did Harold make you smile?