Author Topic: Byron Barker (Read 7106 times)

Allen Brickhaus · « **on:** July 05, 2013, 04:00:01 PM »

July 5: I received a call from Jane Barker this morning that her husband Byron collapsed at work and passed due to a massive heart attack. He was one of my best friends and a consummate helper to all in modeling. Byron and Jane were very close to us and Kathy often said that Jane was like a mother to her and I considered him to be my loving older brother. We will miss his smile, the teasing glint in his eye and his knowledge, skill and work to allow us all to have a better modeling life. What a calm force he has been to his family, his modeling friends, especially the New Albany Skyliners.

With Love; Allen and Kathy Brickhaus

Crist Rigotti · « **Reply #1 on:** July 05, 2013, 04:08:00 PM »

Truly what sad news. Stunt lost a good man. Jane and his family is in our prayers.

Andrew Saunders · « **Reply #2 on:** July 05, 2013, 04:12:15 PM »

This is a huge hit to our club the skyliners. Hes one of the founders of our club. Hes gonna be missed greatly. Thanks for letting us know Allen. WOW!! What a loss. Ill be praying for Jane and those lose to them.

James Mills · « **Reply #3 on:** July 05, 2013, 04:15:45 PM »

My family and I are very sad to hear of Byron's passing. Byron was a great guy. He was always helpful and patient with questions I asked. A couple of years ago at the Nat's he came by our hotel to help me repair the motor in my Shark in the parking lot. You can't say enough about how great a person he was. God bless and keep him and Jane.

James, Beth, and Ben

Mike Griffin · « **Reply #4 on:** July 05, 2013, 04:27:36 PM »

I am literally stunned and numb by this news. Byron and I had so many converstations on the phone and I have every jig he made I guess. He has reworked many engines for me. I am just dazed by this...my prayers go out to Jane and the family and we have lost one of the greatest personalities in our hobby.

Mike

Art Jessup · « **Reply #5 on:** July 05, 2013, 05:39:00 PM »

This is sad news indeed. I always looked forward to seeing Byron at the Brodak fly-in, though i have missed seeing him there the last couple of years. He was such a delightful person and interesting to talk model airplanes with. My condolences go out to the family.
Artie Jessup

Will Davis · « **Reply #6 on:** July 05, 2013, 06:23:47 PM »

Byron was always a delight to be around at our Huntersville contest and at Brodak's , he was a wealth of knowledge about all things modeling and in life. My Condolences to Jane and his family

I could tell you many Byron Barker "good guy" stories, he will be missed

Jeff Traxler · « **Reply #7 on:** July 05, 2013, 07:14:47 PM »

Sad Sad news.I was looking forward to seeing Byron and Jane at the Nats next week.I will dearly miss them.I will fly with a heavy heart this year at the nats.

Randy Cuberly · « **Reply #8 on:** July 05, 2013, 07:30:47 PM »

Another one gone.

My sincerest condolences Allen to Mrs Barker and to you and your Wife.
Losing friends is a terrible experience that's beginning to happen all too often.

My prayers are with you.

Randy Cuberly

Phil Spillman · « **Reply #9 on:** July 05, 2013, 07:47:26 PM »

Byron was the great friend I never got to see enough of! He and Jane were quite a team together. All the work he ever did for me was top shelf and delivered in a timely way. I will miss his humor and smile.

Sondra and I send our deepest sympathy to his entire family.

Phil and Sondra Spillman

Dan McEntee · « **Reply #10 on:** July 05, 2013, 08:03:20 PM »

Control line modeling has lost a good friend. I have known Byron my whole C/L stunt career. He was a great guy to talk to, and a fellow welder/fabricator.We even had racing enduro type motorcycles in our youth in common. He wrote a short article for Stunt News years ago, I think it was, detailing his diagnosis of sleep apnea. This alerted me to some of my own sleeping/breathing issues and we talked about it at length several times, and I will always be appreciative of his insight. And he could build a wicked good stunt engine.
God Speed, my friend,
Dan McEntee

John Sunderland · « **Reply #11 on:** July 05, 2013, 08:12:42 PM »

I am so sad to hear this.

In 1999, Byron and Jane Barker kept me and my sister in their home while my father was hospitalized after his first heart attack. Byron, at that time was just recovering from his first heart attack the year before. He was very patient, loving and fatherly to me while my own father lay in the hospital. We went flying a few evenings to pass the time. Joe Reinhard and my father were there for the New Albany Stunt Contest that August weekend. I was home planning a wedding for myself.

It was a rough time for me and my family, and Byron Barker kept me steady during some of the worst moments of my life. I will never forget this man or his family.

Dennis Moritz · « **Reply #12 on:** July 05, 2013, 08:19:37 PM »

Very sad news. I will miss his presence. So many times I chatted with him at contests.

Mike Keville · « **Reply #13 on:** July 05, 2013, 08:50:23 PM »

We are beginning to disappear at a rather rapid rate lately. Godspeed, Byron!

Mike Griffin · « **Reply #14 on:** July 05, 2013, 09:53:09 PM »

Yes Mike, we are... I have lost 3 in the last 3 months who were wonderful, kind and gracious people and shared the love of model planes.....our mortality is coming quick.

Mike

Randy Ryan · « **Reply #15 on:** July 05, 2013, 10:24:19 PM »

I only ever corresponded with Byron, never met him. My prayers are offered for the Barker family and friends feeling this loss.

Howard Rush · « **Reply #16 on:** July 05, 2013, 10:51:24 PM »

Byron mentored several of my friends from New Albany. I always enjoyed chatting with him. Last time was to tell him what a wonderful design his paint stand is.

Byron was judging one of my Nats flights in shifting wind. I kept changing where I did my maneuvers, and the judges were chasing them around the circle. Byron didn't like it. The next year's New Albany contest flyer contained the statement, "Judges will not move."

Will Davis · « **Reply #17 on:** July 05, 2013, 11:15:14 PM »

Attached is a picture from Brodak's ,Byron Barker and Watt Moore enjoying some ice cream , as tradition we make it to the Brodak Supermarker to get some Ice Cream a couple times during the week.

Larry Fruits · « **Reply #18 on:** July 05, 2013, 11:55:17 PM »

Byron was a good friend and great fellow. He will be sorely missed.

Rest in peace my friend.

God's blessings for Jane and family.

Larry

afml · « **Reply #19 on:** July 06, 2013, 04:23:22 AM »

Just spoke with Byron over the phone Wednesday evening about the passing of another club member, Ken Grasser.
Our Nation celebrated it's independence on the 4th. Ken celebrated his independence from his health issues on the 3rd, Byron on the 5th. Volumes could be written about these fellow club members and dear friends. My heart goes out to their Families with Prayers of Strength and Courage Abound! God's speed Ken & Byron! You will be greatly missed.
Wes Eakin

john e. holliday · « **Reply #20 on:** July 06, 2013, 08:29:46 AM »

Only knew Byron and his wife from attending the NATS. Always great couple to talk to. He will be missed.

Allen Brickhaus · « **Reply #21 on:** July 06, 2013, 09:14:32 AM »

You can send cards or letters to Jane Barker at 407 Mt. Tabor Road, New Albany IN 47150. Byron will be cremated and no service will be held.

Allen

Tom Niebuhr · « **Reply #22 on:** July 06, 2013, 09:18:14 AM »

This is a loss for all of us. May God bless him.

Will Hinton · « **Reply #23 on:** July 06, 2013, 09:28:24 AM »

This hurts. I first met Byron at the Sig weekend in around '95 and he edged me out for first in intermediate. The wonderful rascal denied doing that from then on every time we talked! That twinkle Allen mentioned was always there during our discussions. What a delight and privilege it was to have known him. Can the nats ever be the same without Byron there to visit with? Not for me.

Ron Merrill · « **Reply #24 on:** July 06, 2013, 10:34:09 AM »

What a great loss. I talked with him many times on the phone and had several of his reworked engines and other items he built and sold. I will miss him greatly. Ron.

ChrisSarnowski · « **Reply #25 on:** July 06, 2013, 12:37:05 PM »

Very sad to hear of Byron's passing. I had met him at Brodak's a few years ago.
Condolences to Byron's family and friends.

-Chris

Dan McEntee · « **Reply #26 on:** July 06, 2013, 12:41:22 PM »

Quote from: afml on July 06, 2013, 04:23:22 AM

Just spoke with Byron over the phone Wednesday evening about the passing of another club member, Ken Grasser.
Our Nation celebrated it's independence on the 4th. Ken celebrated his independence from his health issues on the 3rd, Byron on the 5th. Volumes could be written about these fellow club members and dear friends. My heart goes out to their Families with Prayers of Strength and Courage Abound! God's speed Ken & Byron! You will be greatly missed.
Wes Eakin

Hi Wes;
I wasn't aware that Ken Grasser had passed away also. I saw his name mentioned in a thread on the other site by some one looking for him regarding the Super Master classic model. Ken was a nice guy, good modeler also and traveled with Byron a lot back when I first started hitting the contests circuit. The last time I remember seeing Ken he had a neat scale model of Paul Mantz's red #46 P-51 Bendix racer. Sounds like two friends have gone West together.
Dan McEntee

Eric Viglione · « **Reply #27 on:** July 06, 2013, 01:45:29 PM »

Crud. I was looking forward to saying hi to Byron in a couple weeks. It will be hard to look at that section of fence where he always setup his table at the Nat's without thinking of him.
This is happening way too much lately.
EricV

Allen Goff · « **Reply #28 on:** July 06, 2013, 04:42:17 PM »

Sad news, our prayers go out to Jane and the family. Byron's contest was my first contest when I got back into flying stunt some 20 years ago. He was a very good friend and a class act. We'll miss him.

Blessings
Allen

Doug Moon · « **Reply #29 on:** July 06, 2013, 11:47:54 PM »

I met him at the nats and talked with him a few times, he was a such a nice guy.

The paint stand is an awesome design and has been a wonderful tool.

If only Byron could know how much this stand is helping me make a 5 year old boy in Dallas about as happy as he has can be!

Joe Peters · « **Reply #30 on:** July 07, 2013, 08:13:40 AM »

Hi Allen.

Please know that my prayers are, not only for Jane, but for you also. I know, only too well, what it means to loose close friends. Byron, was one such person that was considered a friend, even by those who only briefly stood in his shadow or was invited to share his shade while passing his canopy at the flying field.

Byron, will be missed by many. I look forward to seeing you at Nationals,

God Bless,

Joe Peters

ericrule · « **Reply #31 on:** July 08, 2013, 06:55:46 PM »

This is indeed sad news!

Byron was one of the really "good guys" in our hobby. He will be missed by all who knew him.

Eric Rule

Balsa Butcher · « **Reply #32 on:** July 09, 2013, 11:23:41 AM »

Always enjoyed talking to Byron. Both his engines and products were very popular and used by myself and many fliers in NorCal. He will be missed out here and everywhere C/L is flown. Our sympathy and prayers to his family.

Bill Little · « **Reply #33 on:** July 09, 2013, 01:55:01 PM »

I am really saddened by this news. I thought I had already commented here, but I guess it was at SSW only. I met Byron at either the '93 or '96 NATS. I needed a .40FP and he had a used one for a great price, and he had worked on it. It is still my favorite .40FP and it was my first "reworked" stunt engine. I have his paint stand and his fuselage jig. Both are extremely good pieces of equipment and will easily outlast me. I really enjoyed seeing him in person since he was such a genuine good guy. Always willing to help out in any way he could. He will be greatly missed by me.

We have lost many from our ranks in the recent past. All were "brethren" in this shrinking hobby, and it is starting to remind me of my mortality. A hobby that, with the people involved, can make us feel so young again. My prayers have been, and will continue to be, sent up for his family and friends. May God richly bless Byron as he flies in the golden skies.

Bill

Leo Mehl · « **Reply #34 on:** July 10, 2013, 12:26:20 PM »

I have never had more of a sinking feeling in my heart at the hearing of Byrons passing. He was a freind to all that he talked too and a very good gentlemen to all who knew him. He was a man that was dedicated to freinds and family and we could not ask for a better person. I will miss talking to him on the phone as will others. My prayers go out to his family iin their time of sorrow. I know our father will enjoy his time with Byron.

Author Topic: Byron Barker (Read 7106 times)

Mike Griffin

Mike Griffin

ChrisSarnowski

Eric Viglione