Robert Bruce Barnes

A retired special agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bruce was a quiet,thoughtful man who enjoyed traveling, loved the Gulf beaches, and spending time on the beach with his family. In 1993, he and his wife chose to make Franklin County their home and built a home on St. George Island where they spent much of their time while on leave and between overseas assignments with the DEA. Bruce was born Dec. 5, 1946, in Phoenix, Ariz., the son of the late Robert Bruce Barnes Sr., and Georgia A. Barnes of St. Petersburg. He grew up on the Gulf Coast near St. Petersburg and while growing up and through college worked summers as a manager with Ed’s Beach Service in Hollywood, St. Petersburg, and Panama City. He earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology in 1973 from Florida State University. Also a graduate of the Broward County Police Academy, he served as a police officer in Fort Lauderdale from 1973 to 1976, before taking a position as a special agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) in Mobile, Ala., where he was assigned from 1976 to 1980. In 1980, Bruce transferred to the DEA, serving as a special agent in Mobile, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale. He also spent 10 years of his DEA career overseas, serving as a special agent at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand from 1987 to 1994, and then as DEA Country Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India from 1998 to 2002, before transferring to the DEA Field Office in Tallahassee. He served the last two of his 23-year career with DEA in Tallahassee before retiring in December 2003. In 2005, he joined the Florida Dept. of Transportation in Tallahassee where he served as an investigator with the Office of Inspector General for five years. He also ran twice as the Republican candidate for Franklin County sheriff in 2004 and 2008. Bruce was a dedicated law enforcement professional, friend, and mentor to many throughout his thirty-year public service career. A Vietnam veteran, he served there with the U.S. Army’s 19th Engineer Battalion from January 1966 to December 1967.

Survivors include his wife of 24 years, Sabra A. Thornton; daughters, Brittany Thornton Barnes, and Courtney Thornton Barnes, all of St. George Island; his mother, Georgia A. Barnes; and brother, Patrick M. Barnes, both of St. Petersburg.

A celebration of Bruce’s life is planned for Friday, Jan. 7 at St. George Island. Interment and a memorial

service are planned for the following week in Bay Pines National Cemetery in St. Petersburg.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Big Bend Hospice in Tallahassee, the American Cancer Society, or a charity of one’s choice.

Arrangements are under the direction of Culley's MeadowWood Funeral Home in Tallahassee, Florida.