Wednesday, January 9th, 2013
Oran Barber
Oran Barber, 99, Greenfield, Ind., died Jan. 6, 2013, at Pleasant View Lodge in McCordsville, Ind.
He was born Aug. 1, 1913, in Auglaize County to Walter and Minnie Miller Barber. On Dec. 21, 1932, he married Magdalene "Shorty" Skinner, who died Nov. 4, 2001.
Surviving are two sons and a daughter, Bill (Barbara) Barber, St. Marys, Bob (Ladonna) Barber, Dothan, Ala., and Janet (George) Grabbe, Greenfield, Ind.; six grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; 12 great-great-grandchildren; three stepgreat grandchildren; six stepgreat-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
Also deceased are a brother and two sisters, Willis Barber, Luella Trempert and Marian Nelson.
He was a 1931 graduate of Mendon-Union High School and worked at several auto dealerships in St. Marys before moving to Florida in 1954. He retired in 1978 from the Florida Gas Transmission Co. in Safety Harbor, Fla. The Barbers moved to Greenfield, Ind., in 2000, residing there with their daughter.
An ardent Christian, he had attended Nazarene churches in Ohio, was a member of the Clearwater First Church of the Nazarene in Florida and attended Amity United Methodist Church in Greenfield.
He was an aviation enthusiast, having owned and built several airplanes while living in Florida, and was a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association and the Florida Historical Aviation Society.
Funeral services are 2 p.m. Saturday at W.H. Dick & Sons- Hellwarth Funeral Home, Celina, the Rev. Larry Bush of the Amity United Methodist Church officiating. Burial will follow at Calvary Evangelical Cemetery, Salem Township, Auglaize County.
Calling is noon-2 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home.
Memorials may be given to The Church of the Nazarene or The Gideons International.
Condolences may be left at dickandsonshellwarthfh.com.