Virginia "Ginny" Barker

Virginia W. Barker, 92, a long time resident of Pensacola, Florida, passed away on Friday, August 16, 2019, in Arlington, Texas. Virginia was born in Marianna, Florida, on October 7, 1926, to Laura Dean and Walter L. Watford. She was a graduate of Marianna High School and Florida State University with a BS degree in Social Work. She was a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority. Her first job was with the Florida State Welfare Department. After her marriage to Harold Barker in 1949, she spent the next 20 years as a Navy wife. During this time she was a child welfare and adoptions worker in Maryland and worked with Blind Services in California. She established the first Family Services Department at the Naval Support Service in Yokohama, Japan, and also did adoption home studies with military families for Holt Adoption Agency in Seoul, Korea. Upon Harold’s retirement they returned to his hometown of Pensacola, Florida, where she was employed with the Community Action Program for 25 years. She was a charter member of the Manna Food Bank Board and served on many other boards and committees while employed. Upon her retirement, she volunteered with Habitat for Humanity for several years. She was a faithful member of the Corry Station Chapel in Pensacola for many years until her move to Arlington, Texas, in 2017 to be near her daughter.

Virginia was preceded in death by her husband Harold Barker, parents Laura Dean and Walter L. Watford, and dear friend and sister-in-law, Kathleen Barker Hubacker. She is survived by her daughter Luanne of Fort Worth, Texas, and two sons and their families, Jeff and Debbie and children Bryan and Sarah of Santa Rosa, California, and Gainesville, Florida, and Scott and Claudia and children Catherine and Kimberly of Arlington, Texas, and Friolzheim, Germany. She is also survived by her sister Juanita Biggar of Gadsden, Alabama, brother-in-law Richard Barker of Pensacola, and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be on Thursday, August 22, 2019 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Funeral services will be held on Friday, August 23, 2019 at 9:00 am. Interment will follow at Barrancas National Cemetery at 10:00 am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Virginia’s name to a charity of choice. You may express your condolences online at www.oaklawnfuneral.com.