Donald L. Barker

Donald (Don) Lee Barker was born on September 3rd, 1929 and has moved on to heaven’s reward at the age of 82. He was born in his grandmother’s home in Mountain Home, Arkansas and raised on a farm in western Kansas until the age of 5. The times were desperate with the Great Depression and drought. After selling everything of any value, they were able to move to Washington State. Don’s mother often said later that it was the best move they ever made. Don graduated from Ellensburg High School in 1947 and Central Washington University in 1951 with a degree in Education. It was during this time, while attending the 1st Christian Church that he accepted the Lord Jesus as his personal savior. Two weeks after graduation he was in the Air Force for 4 years due to the Korean war. In service he was selected to attend the longest electronic tech school in the Air Force which resulted in a major career change. Following his honorable discharge in 1955, he worked for Boeing on the B-52 bomber, testing the electronic systems. During this time he met and married June his only love at the Interbay Covenant Church of Seattle. After 3 years at Boeing they were able to move to Chicago where June worked as a nurse at the Swedish Covenant Hospital and Don attended and graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with an Electrical Engineering degree. Unexpectedly, a job offer came to work at Cape Canaveral with the electronic checkout crew of the Atlas missiles and later as a Boeing test conductor for the Saturn 5 /Apollo missile tests and launches. Those were very exciting years. After 10 years, the family moved to Bellevue, WA where Don finished out his 30 year career with Boeing, testing the avionics on the B-1 bomber and traveling to many countries teaching the avionics systems on the new 757 and 767 commercial airliners. Don and June have been members of the Newport Covenant Church for 39 years. Don is survived by his wife June of 54 married years and four adult children, Dawn Knochenmuss of Hamilton, OH, Pamela Sherron of Bellingham, WA, Jon of Tokyo, Japan, and Patrick of Newcastle, WA and brother Ken. Don also has four wonderful grandchildren, Ethan and Brea Sherron, and Shinzo and Aika Barker.

A memorial service will be held at the Newport Covenant Church on 4 Nov 2011 at 2pm.

IMMORTALITY

From strength to strength advancing he,

His soul well-knit and all his battles won,

Mounts, and that heartily, to eternal life.

By Matthew Arnold, an English poet and

Oxford professor, 1822 -- 1889

Arrangements under the direction of Sunset Hills Funeral Home, Bellevue, WA.