Thevis was preceded in death by Lawton Eugene Barton, Sr. (father), Mary Elizabeth Barton (mother), Lawton Eugene Barton, Jr. (brother), and Glen Barton (brother).
Thevis is survived by his wife of 62 years, Shirley Barton; daughter Darlene Marshall (Don); sons Mark Barton (Jennifer) and Paul Barton (Rachel); grandchildren Heather (Ryan), Heath (Mallory), John, Kelsey, and Sarah; great grandchildren Isaac, Reagan, Tyler, John, Morgan, and Jase; sisters Florence Wallace, Velma Davidson (Faust), and Gail Vauclin (Larry); and many loving nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
Thevis was a Korean War Veteran who served our country honorably in the United States Navy. After his military commitment, Thevis had a distinguished 30 year career with IBM, in which he worked on building automation controls, computer systems, the space program, solar energy, and critical facilities. A key highlight during his career is when Thevis worked for IBM and NASA as a lead flight systems test engineer during the Apollo program, where he worked on the Saturn V rocket LVDC flight control computer & navigation system components in the command module, and was awarded for finding and resolving system faults, playing a key role in getting the first man, and those that followed, to the moon safely. After “retirement” he owned & operated Barton’s A/C & Heating from 1990 – 2010. Not one to sit idle, Thevis continued to serve through the many outreach programs at St. Andrew UMC. In his spare time through the years he enjoyed the outdoors by fishing, hunting, or working the land, and he also enjoyed spending time with family in Georgia and Louisiana, but nothing brought him more joy than his grandchildren.
A celebration of life and memorial service for Thevis will be held Saturday, February 15, 2020, 2:00 pm at St. Andrew United Methodist Church, 3455 Canton Rd, Marietta, Georgia 30066 (770) 926-3488.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Thevis' memory may be made to St. Andrew United Methodist Church - Keheley Center Sound System, 3455 Canton Rd, Marietta, Georgia 30066; or to MUST Ministries, mustministries.org. Thevis believed the sound system should be upgraded to make it easier for the hearing impaired to hear and participate in church services and to correct issues with failing equipment causing distraction to worship services, and he often donated to MUST Ministries, a volunteer organization dedicated to helping homeless and struggling individuals and families with food, clothing, housing, employment, and other services
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy for the Barton family may be shared at: www.winkenhoferpineridgefuneralhome.com
