Lonnie Gene Barron

Born in Spokane, Washington, and raised in the Liberty Lake community, Lonnie graduated from Central Valley High School in 1966, where he made headlines in football, basketball, baseball, track, and academics while serving in student leadership. He carried that work ethic and competitive spirit throughout his life.

Lonnie ("Red Barron") attended Oregon State University, where he joined Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity, forged lifelong friendships, and discovered a love for rugby. During that chapter of his life, he also served his country in the U.S. Army Reserve. A proud Beaver, he remained deeply connected to Oregon State and its alumni community.

Although he earned a business degree, Lonnie preferred building things to pushing pencils. As a boy, he built treehouses, rafts, retaining walls, and even an eight-foot hydroplane boat. As an adult, he turned that passion into a career, founding Fair & Square Construction and spending decades building decks, additions, and homes.

In 1981, he started work on the Happy Valley home where he and his wife Tammy would raise their family. Over the years, the property grew to include a gymnasium, soccer field, batting cage, and countless other projects. Their home became a gathering place for large family celebrations, bridge games, Saturday night hangouts with their children's ever-changing circle of friends, youth sports practices, and pickup basketball games, always with room for one more person.

Yet the structures he built were never his greatest legacy. To his younger brother Steve, he was a hero, role model, and father figure. To his children, he was a constant source of encouragement who valued effort, character, and a genuine love for whatever they chose to pursue far more than titles or accolades. That said, if there happened to be a trophy involved, he certainly preferred it to end up on his side of the room.

He coached countless youth athletes, sponsored teams, served on league boards, and taught generations of kids to love sports. As one former player put it, "The world needs more Lonnies."

Lonnie and Tammy shared 44 years of marriage, along with a love of bridge, travel, and adventure. He was always willing to try new things with her, including golf and downhill skiing, and somehow always managed to be good, if not great, at whatever he did.

Nothing brought him more joy than being "Pops" to his three children and "Grandpa" to eight grandchildren. He delighted in introducing them to the things he loved most: athletics, waterskiing, boating, card games, building projects, and annual summer trips back to Liberty Lake. The three kids were frequent fixtures at Cascade Athletic Club, where Lonnie spent decades playing 4-on-4 basketball and sharing camaraderie that lasted a lifetime. Fierce competitors on the court became friends over pitchers of beer afterward, a tradition he approached with at least as much dedication as the game itself.

Behind a tough exterior was a gentle giant with a generous heart, quick wit, and deep loyalty to family and friends. He had a particular soft spot for animals and over the years cared for an eclectic collection that included Chow Chows, koi fish, rabbits, turtles, a runt piglet, and Pete the Peacock.

He continued playing basketball and rugby well into his 60s, far longer than his doctors, family, and occasionally his own body thought was wise. Ever the competitor, he never missed an opportunity to beat his children at a game, a card table, or just about anything else. Fittingly, one of his final victories was a game of Hearts against them shortly before his passing.

He is survived by his wife, Tamara; daughter Kimberly Bruce (Gabriel); sons Nicholas Barron (Jillian) and Zachary Barron (Katie); brother Steven Barron (Janyce); eight grandchildren: Chad, Chase, Hazel, Lucas, Emmalee, Coraline, Evelyn, and Cyrus; and countless players, teammates, friends, and community members whose lives were better because Lonnie showed up.

The family takes comfort in imagining that Lonnie is in heaven now, building unpermitted structures in preparation for the rest of us.

A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, June 28, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at the Charbonneau Golf Club Clubhouse in Wilsonville, Oregon.

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