grandfather passed away at the age of 83. On January 30, 1959, he married
wife of 62 years, Brenda Crabtree Barker. They raised two sons, Scott and
Curtis, and one daughter, Karen. Joe was preceded in death by his father,
Floyd, his mother, Eva, and his sister, Norma. He is survived by his wife
Brenda, his children, Scott and Monica Barker, Curtis Barker, Karen and Andy
Bedell, his sister Gloria, and grandchildren Kayla and husband, Chad Talbot,
Daniel, Zachary, Morgan, and Samuel Barker.
Joe was born December 30th, 1937 in Dallas, Texas to Floyd and Eva Barker.
His twin sisters Norma and Gloria were born a short time later. Joe attended
Sunset High School and then travelled to the University of Texas in Austin.
Joe and Brenda met while on a double date one weekend while Joe was home
from college. It’s important to mention that they were on a double date with
other people at the time. Brenda decided that Joe was cute, and quite a catch,
so she called him and asked him out, which was the beginning of their 62 year
adventure. Joe soon started hitchhiking home from UT to spend time with her.
He finally popped the question, and handed her the engagement ring in a
brown paper bag. If Joe was anything, he was practical! They were married
on Brenda’s 19th birthday, and she moved to Austin so Joe could finish his
engineering degree. He graduated first in his class from the University of
Texas School of Engineering with a Chemical Engineering degree. After
graduation, Joe and Brenda moved to Baytown, Texas where Joe began his
40+ career with Exxon at the local refinery. One of his first projects was
designing a pumping station that is still in use today.
The family moved to Houston and then spent 5 years in Weston,
Connecticut as Joe was transferred to Exxon’s New York office. The family
moved back to Houston—to the Kingwood area—in 1974. In 1983, Joe began
attending law school full time at night, while still working full-time,
graduating from the South Texas College of Law in 1986 with honors. Joe
spent his final 10 years in Exxon’s legal department. Joe and Brenda retired to
their lake house in Spicewood Texas.
Joe loved his family and always led by example. He believed in doing things
with careful study and analysis that could be painful to those with less
patience and less exacting standards. This is no exaggeration. Joe was always
very generous with his time—helping many family members and friends with
legal matters, maintenance issues or with myriad other issues that he would do
thanklessly. Joe always acted with integrity and his word was his bond.
A private family memorial service will be held Saturday, November 20
the at Remembrance Gardens in Austin, TX.
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