James Barker

James Arthur Barker
Former Director of Personnel of Oak Ridge National Laboratory

James Arthur Barker, 75, died peacefully on Sunday, March 2, 2003, at the Haywood Regional Medical Center in Waynesville, North Carolina, surrounded by his family.

The only child of Newell and Thelma Barker, he was born in Lynch, Kentucky where he attended school. He later attended his last few years of high school at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky.

Barker attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and received a B.S. and M.S. in Business Administration. He met Dorothy Lee Cobb at the University of Tennessee in 1947. They were married on June 10, 1949 at the Chapel on the Hill in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Barker joined Union Carbide in 1951 where he worked in salary administration, personnel,
and other positions at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He served as Employee Relations Divisions Manager, Employee Relations Division Director and then in 1984 served as Director of Personnel until he retired in 1988.

Throughout his life, he enjoyed working with people and being involved in community service. Barker served on the executive committee of the Great Smoky Mountain Council, Boy Scouts of America, as a member of the Oak Ridge Rotary Club, served as vice chairman of the Anderson County Crippled Children's Committee, and as past president of the Oak Ridge Jaycees. He served as a board member of Oak Ridge Mental Health. He was a former chairman of the United Way Fund Drive.

Barker enjoyed playing golf at the Oak Ridge Country Club where he and his wife Dorothy were members. He enjoyed his children and grandchildren's regular visits to his Watts Bar home on the lake. When he retired, he and Dorothy moved to Hilton Head, South Carolina. Because he loved the mountains, the couple bought a summer home in Maggie Valley, North Carolina where he enjoyed playing golf.

In addition to his wife of 53 years, Barker is survived by James Barker Jr. and his wife Anita of Knoxville, Tennessee and granddaughters Tara Gilbreath of Knoxville and Christie Barker of Murphreesboro, Tennessee; daughter Sherold Barr and her husband John Kaib, MD, and grandson Max Barr of Eugene, Oregon; daughter Jennifer Bennett and her husband Dimmy Bennett of Atlanta, Georgia; and son Byron Barker of Knoxville, Tennessee.

His wife Dorothy would like to especially thank Jim's caregivers of the past four years for their loving and tender care: Carol Chambers and Carolyn Sutton of North Carolina; and Marva Wadley, Kathy Brown, June Godwin and Naenae Diggs of Atlanta, Georgia. Jim's family and caregivers fondly remember him for his charm, cheerfulness and sense of humor in the face of his declining health. His children were touched by his love, integrity and personal dignity.

The family will greet friends at 1 p.m. at the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 127 Lafayette Drive, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. A service will be held at 2 p.m.

Contributions can be made in his name to the American Heart Association, Anderson County Unit or Ridgeview Mental Health, 240 Tyrone Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37830

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