1924
Charles
2015
Charles "Charlie" Barker
August 28, 1924 — November 24, 2015
Obituary Charles (Charlie) Jacob Barker
Charles Jacob Barker, 91, passed away November 24, 2015. He was born August 28, 1924 to Charles Jacob Barker Sr. and Elma Barker while living in Toledo Ohio. He was a child of the 1929 Great Depression. When the family lost their farm in 1929, he traveled across the country with his father finding work where they could. He joined the United States Marine Corps on October 29, 1941 at the age of 17, where he made it a career. He served through WWII, the Korean War, and in the Vietnam Conflict. He married Jean (Grinnell) Barker in 1946 in Portland Oregon. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1968 and went to work as a postal carrier in Seattle Washington. He retired from the Post Office in 1985 after working there for 17 years. During his time in Seattle he became a Mason. In 1991 Charlie and Jean moved to Overland Park Kansas to be near their daughters. He continued his relationship with the Masons and was also a member of The Scottish Rite, York Rite, and Shriners until his passing.
Charlie is preceded in death by his wife Jean. He leaves behind a son Thomas and his wife Brenda Barker, two daughters Linda and her husband Fred Kemp and Vickie Barker, four grandchildren Aaron Bent, Kelly Clark, Jonathan Bent, and Kevin Barker, and four great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers memoral contributions may be made to the American Heart Association www.heart.org
Charles J. Barker
(A Brief History as told by Charles Barker)
Born in Toledo, Ohio on August 28, 1924. Charles’s father was Charles J. Barker, Sr. who was born on May 17, 1905 in Barnesville, Ohio. His mother was Elma Kuehner who was born on in Waverly, Ohio. Born as Charles Thomas Barker, but when he enlisted in the Marine Corps they accidentally changed his middle name to Jacob. All of the documents listing Charles Barker show Charles Jacob Barker from that point on.
Charles, Sr. and Elma moved to Columbus, Ohio and Elma gave birth to Charles Thomas (Jacob) Barker on 08/28/24. Jessie, (Dad’s sister was born in 1927.) They lived in Columbus, Ohio until Charles Barker, Sr. and Elma separated and divorced, probably around 1928. Charles Barker, Sr. took Charles, Jr. from the home when he was around 4 years old and took him to Canton, Ohio, where his father’s mother, Mary Jane Melinda Kuehner-Barker lived until she lost her farm, when the depression hit in 1929.
Grandfather Tom Barker threatened to take all of the children from Mary Jane, so
Mary Jane dressed up all of the children and took them down to the railroad station to wait for their father. Bill Barker, Eva Barker, Burt Barker, Charles Barker and John Barker were all there waiting for their father. When he showed up he took one look at all of them and turned around and left.
Charles Barker, Sr. met Elma Kuehner and they married and lived in Canton, Ohio with Charlie’s mother Mary Jane until 1926-1927. Dad lived with Grandmother Barker for several years. His father made frequent visits home. Grandmother Mary Jane later met Bill Miller and married him sometime during the Depression. They lived in an apartment in Canton, Ohio. They left Canton, Ohio when Dad was around six and moved to an onion farm in Indiana. When Dad’s grandparents were done picking onions they moved to a cherry field in Michigan and picked cherries for a season. Dad, grandma & step-grandfather lived in a cabin provided by the owners of the cherry field.
Uncle John and Aunt Helen also worked on the cherry fields and lived in a picker’s cabin with their four or five children. When the season was over everyone left and started on a trek across the country. Dad’s Uncle Bill joined the trek with Aunt Mary and their two children. There were two cars traveling together. Two of the children, Chuck and Harry would throw rocks at rabbits until they’d hit one in the back of the neck and kill it. That is what everyone would have for dinner. Sometimes they would catch a prairie chicken and have that for dinner. They would cook their kill over camp fires. They worked their way across country getting any odd jobs that they could. When they got to Texas they picked cotton. Dad was still too young to work, so he would just hang out in the fields so they could keep an eye on him while they worked. When they got to California they made paper butterflies and bought cheap soap and sold them to get by. Dad said he met Bob Hope at an airport where he was selling his soap and Mr. Hope bought the whole tray!!!
They then traveled north to Oregon and picked apples at Hood River. After they picked apples they went to Seattle. There they rented an old beat up two story house with a lot next to them. The lot had a huge hole in it and when it rained it would fill up with water and the kids would go out in a little boat and float around in it. They thought that was great.
They stayed in Seattle during the winter (this was sometime in the 30’s). Dad went to school in Seattle during the winter months. When school was over they all started picking cherries, after that they would travel to Yakima valley and pick hops. It was at this time that Dad started working; he was probably around 10 or 11. After the hop fields they would go to Wenatchee, Washington and pick apples and pears. Dad’s father was a manager at one of the apple ranches.
When the season was finished they would go back to Seattle to a rented house. Grandmother Mary, Bill and Dad went back to Portland, Oregon to stay so Dad could go to school until the 8th grade. During the summer months they would pick fruit for a living. He went to Sabin High School.
In October 29, 1941, Dad joined the Marine Corps. He was 17 years old. He went through WWII.
He served in WWII from 1941 thru 1945. During his service, he went to boot camp in San Diego, California, then he went to school in Chicago for the Marine Corps, studying at Air Frames School where he learned about metals and hydraulics. He was then shipped back to California and then overseas to Guadalcanal after the landing, somewhere around 1942. Dad repaired aircraft in Guadalcanal for three months. He was then sent to Espedosantos to repair aircraft for another three months. He spent a total of two years in the South Pacific. He came back to San Diego and was sent to Corvalis, Oregon with a transport squadron, where he was a crew chief on an R4D transport plane. As a crew chief it was Dad’s responsibility to make sure that the plane was ready for the pilot to fly.
Dad was then sent to El Centro, a small town near the Mexican border, where he says you could literally fry an egg on the sidewalks. He did the same thing, as a crew chief for the airplanes. He was then sent to San Diego where he was released from the Marine Corps in 1945.
Dad then went back to Portland, Oregon where he met Mom and went to work for Montgomery Ward as a warehouseman. Jean was born in Bend, Oregon on February 23, 1928. On July 6, 1946 Mom and Dad married in a Catholic church in Portland, Oregon. He worked for Montgomery Ward for almost four years.
In January 1947 Tom Barker was born. They were living in a garage that had been turned into a cabin by Grandma Bea. Linda was born in 1949. Dad went up to the tri city area and got a job for Bonneville Power and worked for them for a year. Having grown tired of the politics he decided to re-enlist in the Marine Corp and went back to El Toro. Mom came down to join Dad and was there for a brief period of time.
In 1950 when the Korean War began he was called back into service. He went to Japan and then on to Korea. Dad said it was colder than hell. After Korea dad did two tours in Vietnam before retiring from the service.
Charles Jacob Barker, 91, passed away November 24, 2015. He was born August 28, 1924 to Charles Jacob Barker Sr. and Elma Barker while living in Toledo Ohio. He was a child of the 1929 Great Depression. When the family lost their farm in 1929, he traveled across the country with his father finding work where they could. He joined the United States Marine Corps on October 29, 1941 at the age of 17, where he made it a career. He served through WWII, the Korean War, and in the Vietnam Conflict. He married Jean (Grinnell) Barker in 1946 in Portland Oregon. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1968 and went to work as a postal carrier in Seattle Washington. He retired from the Post Office in 1985 after working there for 17 years. During his time in Seattle he became a Mason. In 1991 Charlie and Jean moved to Overland Park Kansas to be near their daughters. He continued his relationship with the Masons and was also a member of The Scottish Rite, York Rite, and Shriners until his passing.
Charlie is preceded in death by his wife Jean. He leaves behind a son Thomas and his wife Brenda Barker, two daughters Linda and her husband Fred Kemp and Vickie Barker, four grandchildren Aaron Bent, Kelly Clark, Jonathan Bent, and Kevin Barker, and four great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers memoral contributions may be made to the American Heart Association www.heart.org
Charles J. Barker
(A Brief History as told by Charles Barker)
Born in Toledo, Ohio on August 28, 1924. Charles’s father was Charles J. Barker, Sr. who was born on May 17, 1905 in Barnesville, Ohio. His mother was Elma Kuehner who was born on in Waverly, Ohio. Born as Charles Thomas Barker, but when he enlisted in the Marine Corps they accidentally changed his middle name to Jacob. All of the documents listing Charles Barker show Charles Jacob Barker from that point on.
Charles, Sr. and Elma moved to Columbus, Ohio and Elma gave birth to Charles Thomas (Jacob) Barker on 08/28/24. Jessie, (Dad’s sister was born in 1927.) They lived in Columbus, Ohio until Charles Barker, Sr. and Elma separated and divorced, probably around 1928. Charles Barker, Sr. took Charles, Jr. from the home when he was around 4 years old and took him to Canton, Ohio, where his father’s mother, Mary Jane Melinda Kuehner-Barker lived until she lost her farm, when the depression hit in 1929.
Grandfather Tom Barker threatened to take all of the children from Mary Jane, so
Mary Jane dressed up all of the children and took them down to the railroad station to wait for their father. Bill Barker, Eva Barker, Burt Barker, Charles Barker and John Barker were all there waiting for their father. When he showed up he took one look at all of them and turned around and left.
Charles Barker, Sr. met Elma Kuehner and they married and lived in Canton, Ohio with Charlie’s mother Mary Jane until 1926-1927. Dad lived with Grandmother Barker for several years. His father made frequent visits home. Grandmother Mary Jane later met Bill Miller and married him sometime during the Depression. They lived in an apartment in Canton, Ohio. They left Canton, Ohio when Dad was around six and moved to an onion farm in Indiana. When Dad’s grandparents were done picking onions they moved to a cherry field in Michigan and picked cherries for a season. Dad, grandma & step-grandfather lived in a cabin provided by the owners of the cherry field.
Uncle John and Aunt Helen also worked on the cherry fields and lived in a picker’s cabin with their four or five children. When the season was over everyone left and started on a trek across the country. Dad’s Uncle Bill joined the trek with Aunt Mary and their two children. There were two cars traveling together. Two of the children, Chuck and Harry would throw rocks at rabbits until they’d hit one in the back of the neck and kill it. That is what everyone would have for dinner. Sometimes they would catch a prairie chicken and have that for dinner. They would cook their kill over camp fires. They worked their way across country getting any odd jobs that they could. When they got to Texas they picked cotton. Dad was still too young to work, so he would just hang out in the fields so they could keep an eye on him while they worked. When they got to California they made paper butterflies and bought cheap soap and sold them to get by. Dad said he met Bob Hope at an airport where he was selling his soap and Mr. Hope bought the whole tray!!!
They then traveled north to Oregon and picked apples at Hood River. After they picked apples they went to Seattle. There they rented an old beat up two story house with a lot next to them. The lot had a huge hole in it and when it rained it would fill up with water and the kids would go out in a little boat and float around in it. They thought that was great.
They stayed in Seattle during the winter (this was sometime in the 30’s). Dad went to school in Seattle during the winter months. When school was over they all started picking cherries, after that they would travel to Yakima valley and pick hops. It was at this time that Dad started working; he was probably around 10 or 11. After the hop fields they would go to Wenatchee, Washington and pick apples and pears. Dad’s father was a manager at one of the apple ranches.
When the season was finished they would go back to Seattle to a rented house. Grandmother Mary, Bill and Dad went back to Portland, Oregon to stay so Dad could go to school until the 8th grade. During the summer months they would pick fruit for a living. He went to Sabin High School.
In October 29, 1941, Dad joined the Marine Corps. He was 17 years old. He went through WWII.
He served in WWII from 1941 thru 1945. During his service, he went to boot camp in San Diego, California, then he went to school in Chicago for the Marine Corps, studying at Air Frames School where he learned about metals and hydraulics. He was then shipped back to California and then overseas to Guadalcanal after the landing, somewhere around 1942. Dad repaired aircraft in Guadalcanal for three months. He was then sent to Espedosantos to repair aircraft for another three months. He spent a total of two years in the South Pacific. He came back to San Diego and was sent to Corvalis, Oregon with a transport squadron, where he was a crew chief on an R4D transport plane. As a crew chief it was Dad’s responsibility to make sure that the plane was ready for the pilot to fly.
Dad was then sent to El Centro, a small town near the Mexican border, where he says you could literally fry an egg on the sidewalks. He did the same thing, as a crew chief for the airplanes. He was then sent to San Diego where he was released from the Marine Corps in 1945.
Dad then went back to Portland, Oregon where he met Mom and went to work for Montgomery Ward as a warehouseman. Jean was born in Bend, Oregon on February 23, 1928. On July 6, 1946 Mom and Dad married in a Catholic church in Portland, Oregon. He worked for Montgomery Ward for almost four years.
In January 1947 Tom Barker was born. They were living in a garage that had been turned into a cabin by Grandma Bea. Linda was born in 1949. Dad went up to the tri city area and got a job for Bonneville Power and worked for them for a year. Having grown tired of the politics he decided to re-enlist in the Marine Corp and went back to El Toro. Mom came down to join Dad and was there for a brief period of time.
In 1950 when the Korean War began he was called back into service. He went to Japan and then on to Korea. Dad said it was colder than hell. After Korea dad did two tours in Vietnam before retiring from the service.
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