Bill Barnes

January 28, 1929 - July 16, 2020

Location Not Available

Wednesday 7/22, 12:00 pm

Graveside Service

SFC (Ret) Bill Barnes, age 91, resident of Phenix City, Alabama, passed away on July 16, 2020 at Thrive Assisted Living Facility, Columbus, Georgia on Thursday, July 16, 2020. Graveside services with military honors are being held on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, 12 noon, at Lakeview Memory Gardens with Reverend Wayne Williams officiating, according to Vance Brooks Funeral Home, 3738 US Hwy 431N, Phenix City, Alabama.

Mr. Barnes, son of the late Bill Barnes and Lizzie Ayres Barnes, was born January 10, 1929 in Lee County, Virginia. He was retired from the U.S. Army where he served honorably for over 22 years. During his distinguished military career, he served on many overseas and stateside assignments to include two tours in Vietnam, Indochina, and Korea. After his military retirement he began a career with West Point Pepperell where he faithfully worked for over 20 years. Mr. Barnes was Baptist by faith and enjoyed the outdoors where he spent many hours walking, sometimes for many miles. He enjoyed gardening and doing outside projects, and particularly looked forward to “tinkering” on something new. Mr. Barnes was an avid Atlanta Braves baseball fan. Mr. Barnes loved his family immensely, particularly his children and grandchildren. The family remembers him as a man who was dedicated to his family and was admired for the dedication he devoted to his wife as her caretaker. A true soldier, one who fully supported the American flag and what it stood for.

Other than his parents, Mr. Barnes was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy Mae Harrison; son, Ronnie Mixon; granddaughter, Andrea Pinder-Newby; five sisters; and four brothers. He is survived by three daughters, Carolyn Corley and her husband John of Pine Mountain, Georgia, Marilyn Ann Hunt and her husband Shawn of Brentwood, Tennessee, and Sue Moran of Tallahassee, Florida; 11 grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren; 12 great-great grandchildren; many other relatives and friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to Wounded Warriors at www.woundedwarriorproject.org/donate.

Vance Brooks

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I am one of ALL of his grandchildren that he loved. It feels as though I spent every weekend at grandmoma and granddaddy's house growing up. They would save the mini pages out of the Wednesday paper for me and we'd sit together at their round kitchen table and do the mini page. You can rest assure, if you were ever a toddler, you were on granddaddy's hip!!! I don't know if many knew this but in addition to being an excellent Gardner, a fixer Of all things and the best driver... he was also a prankster! I don't remember exactly how we remedied this but once he was fixing a knob that kept falling off of the console tv. He applied some goo on the knob and told me to hold it tightly. Well, this was for granddaddy and I got to help and I wanted to make him proud so I squeezed that thing with ALL MY MIGHT!!! He was going to be so proud!! A few minutes later he asked me to give it back to him so I did.. unsuccessfully. My fingers were glued to the thing!!! I could go on for days with stories because there are so very many memories with my grandparents! They just don't make them any better than our granddaddy. He was an excellent provider, a military man to the core and adored his family!! He is Loved dearly and will be missed greatly.

56 years he was in our lives He met my mother who was a widow with four children . He had never been married They married, we became his family and cared for all of us he even had a new granddaughter that he loved. He loved each of us very much We are certain God put him in our lives. He was a wonderful Dad

Please accept our deepest condolences for your family's loss.