Long Time Principal John D. Barker Passes Away At Age 84

[Henry]

St. Albans – John Barker, Jr., 84, a long-time Vermont educator, community leader, volunteer, outdoorsman and family man, passed away, Saturday, September 4, 2010, at the Northwestern Medical Center. Born on May 26, 1926, John was the son of the late Major General John D. Barker and Lula W. Barker. His wife, Marjorie (Hale) Barker, preceded him in death on August 6, 2004.

John served in the armed forces during the occupation of Germany, returning to UVM to earn degrees in Chemistry and Education. He then became a teacher, principal and school superintendent throughout Northern Vermont until his retirement. He loved summers on Lake Champlain, fishing, boating and enjoying the family cottage.

John leaves four children, Mary, John III, Stephen and Susan and several grand and great grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at 11:00 A.M. in St. Paul’s United Methodist Church on Church Street. Interment will be in the family lot in St. Albans Bay Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the St. Albans Free Library, 11 Maiden Lane, St. Albans, VT 05478 or the St. Albans Area Watershed Association, P.O. Box 1567, St. Albans, VT 05478. Messages of condolence are welcome at www.healdfuneralhome.com. Assisting the Barker family is the Heald Funeral Home of St. Albans.

[Dick Brown]

Henry         As many people remember , John Barker was a well respected educator throughout the state and especially in Franklin County . Proof of this was when he retired in 1983 from the Superintendency at Franklin West,  he was in constant demand from a number of school districts who needed not only an interim administrator, but also a sound, logical fiscal mind. The City of st. Albans, in addition, requested that he serve on a committee making changes to the relationship between themselves and BFA/St. Albans and he also got involved in the Algae Program at his beloved Bay.....all at the time when he rather would have been sailing or fishing in those Lake Champlain waters .
To think of him only as a teacher ( which many still consider him as one of the best ) or principal at BFA/Fairfax , or perhaps only as a Supertindent in the Northeast Kingdom , or only as the Supertindent at Franklin West ( which he was from 1975 until his retirement ), one misses the enormous span of his intellectual and visionary influence over the multitudes of families , kids , and school staff members he encountered.
Very rarely , however, did he take himself too serious, always passing on a humorous tale of adventures which happened to him and the rare times that he did , his wife Marge was the one to bring a sense of reality to his life with her wit.
I was fortunate to go on two fishing trips with him to Quebec after I retired and in both cases , even though he was ten years my senior, he certainly could put me through my paces to keep up with him and his cronies at that camp in th wilderness ( as he always let me know ) .  I shall miss him and am proud that we could call each other friends.