Mary Jo Barker

Mary Josephine Barker, age 85, of Bloomington, Indiana passed away Tuesday, December 30, 2025 at the Hearthstone Health Campus in Bloomington. She was born to Jacob and Josephine (Jordan) Mahr on June 11, 1940 in Sidney, Nebraska. Mary Jo attended Monticello College in Godfrey, Illinois, but later graduated from Colorado State University in Fort Collins. She worked in several occupations during her life, first as a buyer for a retail store in Denver, and then as the manager of an art supply store in Philadelphia.

After marrying her husband and moving to Bloomington, Mary Jo worked as a teller for People’s State Bank and later as the proctor for individuals taking the GED test. She was a member of the Trinity Episcopal Church in Bloomington, where she was at times a Sunday school teacher, youth acolyte director, alter guild member, member of the Vestry, and member of Daughters of the King. She helped with the church’s homeless shelter program, and served on the Board of the Bloomington Family Services Administration. She was a proud member of the RATS (retired adult teachers and staff).

Mary Jo is survived by her husband, James “Jim” Barker, of Bloomington, whom she married on August 25, 1979 in Denver, Colorado; by their son, Joel Jacob Barker and his wife Carolina Tamara, of Princeton, New Jersey; and by two grandchildren, Isaiah Sidney Barker-Tamara and Audrey Ava Barker-Tamara.

Mary Jo was preceded in death by her parents, by an infant son, Jeffrey Allen Barker in 1981 and by a brother, Robert Mahr.

Mary Jo was a cheerful and giving person. She brightened the world of those who knew her.

A Memorial Celebration of Life Service will be held at 1:00 pm Saturday, January 17th at Trinity Episcopal Church.

Online condolences may be shared at www.DayDeremiahFrye.com