Dr. James Harris Barker

Dr. James Harris Barker passed away on Friday, February 20, 2015 at the Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, Jackson, Tennessee. Jim was born on June 28, 1938 to the late Roger Harris Barker and the late Mary Helen Barker of Trenton, Tennessee.

He graduated from Peabody High School in Trenton, Tennessee in 1956. He was president of his senior class. He played on both football and basketball teams. The 1954-55 Peabody basketball team was inducted into the Peabody High School Sports Hall of Fame in April 2012.

Jim attended the University of Tennessee at Martin and Knoxville where he was a member of the ATO Fraternity. He attended medical school at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. This career decision was greatly influenced by the rich history of family members who were horse and buggy doctors in West Tennessee. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1962. He completed his internship with Tulane University at Charity Hospital of New Orleans. He completed a year of surgery at the Veteran’s Hospital in New Orleans in 1964. His residency was with Tulane University at the Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital in New Orleans. Jim was commissioned as a Captain in the United States Army in 1966 and served at The Presidio Hospital of San Francisco for two years. He returned to New Orleans to complete his residency in ear, nose, throat, and facial plastic reconstructive surgery.

Jim married Anne Elizabeth Herrington from New Albany, Mississippi on July 20, 1963. They moved to Jackson, Tennessee in 1969 to join Dr. Charles Cox in the practice of Otolaryngology. For many years he participated in the Crippled Children’s Service of Tennessee providing surgical services to the indigent. He was one of the founding members of Parkside Surgery Center. He authored an article on endoscopic sinus surgery that was published in Archives of Otolaryngology. He was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a member of the American and Tennessee Medical Associations, the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology, and the local Physicians Health Care Network. As a cancer survivor, he supported the American Cancer Society, and served as a district officer on the board of the Tennessee Division of the American Cancer Society. He retired from West Tennessee ENT Clinic in 2002 after 33 years of building a successful medical practice.

Jim was a very active member of First United Methodist Church of Jackson where he was a member of the Religion for Life Sunday school class and a member of the Green Coats. He spent time volunteering for class projects and was a past member of the administrative board.

Jim was an avid fisherman who spent much of his retirement on Pickwick Lake. He enjoyed the outdoors. He liked to hunt and fish with friends, play tennis, snow ski, and work in his yard applying his skills as a master gardener. His hobbies included studying investments in the stock market, playing bridge with friends, studying maps, and watching nature. He also enjoyed watching University of Tennessee sports and attending all of his grandchildren’s school and sporting events.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Roger Harris Barker and Mary Helen Barker, and his sister Nancy Jane Barker. He is survived by his beloved wife, Anne, his three children, James Harris Barker, Jr., and his wife Lynne, John Herrington Barker, Elizabeth Barker Bennett, and her husband Mark, his four grandchildren, Roger Harris Barker II, Caroline Anne Bennett, Grace Elizabeth Bennett, and Mary Herrington Bennett. He is also survived by his sister Ruth Ann Barker Smith, and her husband Jerry, his brother Roger William Barker, and his wife Connie, and many nieces and nephews whom he loved.

Pallbearers are Harris Barker, Preston Campbell, Brian Cox, John Cox, Kevin Cox, Jay Herrington, Allen Maxwell, Carter Naugher.

Visitation will be Tuesday, February 24 from 11:00 a.m – 2:00 p.m. with the funeral following the visitation at First United Methodist Church of Jackson.

Any memorials can be given to the Kirkland Cancer Center, The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, First United Methodist Church of Jackson, or the charity of your choice.