James Lewis Barnhart

James “Jim” Lewis Barnhart, 81, of Haines City, Florida passed away peacefully on July 31 in Haines City, Florida after an extended illness. Jim was born on August 8, 1942 in Hanover, Pennsylvania and was raised in the nearby town of Pleasant Hill. He was a graduate of Littlestown High School and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. After almost 3 decades living in the Atlanta, GA area, he retired to Haines City, Florida after a career in customer service for Delta Airlines.

Jim was raised in Pleasant Hill, Pennsylvania, where his family raised hogs and he hunted deer, pheasants, and squirrels. He attended a one-room schoolhouse until attending and graduating from Littlestown High School in 1960. No matter where he lived afterwards, Jim’s motto was, “You can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy.”

After high school, Jim attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and enlisted as an air traffic controller in the US Navy during the Vietnam War. While in the Navy, he was stationed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Alexandria, Virginia; and Brunswick, Georgia. After discharge from the Navy, Jim was hired by Delta Airlines where he worked as a baggage handler, gate agent, and passenger service agent (“Redcoat”). At the time of his retirement, he was a supervisor for the passenger service agents. Throughout his life, Jim also had several side businesses, including cleaning stalls, cake decorating, and lawn care.

Jim was an avid bowler and proudly participated in the United States Bowling Congress Tournament for 35 years in a row. He also enjoyed golf and played in Delta tournaments for several years until an injury prevented him from doing so. At various times in his life, Jim was a volunteer firefighter and always stopped to help local firefighters if he happened to pass upon them working an active fire. Jim was a wonderful singer and was a proud member of the choir at Lamb of God Lutheran Church. His greatest love, however, was cooking. He enjoyed cooking basic as well as gourmet meals for his family, reading cooking magazines and cookbooks, and watching every cooking show imaginable.

Jim married his first wife, Nancy Hoshall, in 1963. They had a daughter, Stephanie, in 1971. He married the love of his life, Sandra, in 1981, and they enjoyed 43 years of life together before his death.

Jim is preceded in death by his parents, Dennis and Kathryn (Ecker) Barnhart of Hanover, Pennsylvania. He is survived by the love of his life, Sandra (Hall) Barnhart, his brother, Terry Barnhart, daughter Stephanie Barnhart (Michael Reid) and stepchildren Shannon DeLore (Art) and Patrick Dendy (Tracy). He also leaves behind 5 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchild.

Services will be held August 17th at 11 am at Lamb of God Lutheran Church, Haines City, Florida. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Lamb of God Lutheran Church in Haines City or the American Diabetes Association.