The Forestry Forum

Dear Forestry Forum,

I am the son of Brother Noble (Noble Barker) and I wanted to pass along the sad news that Brother Noble passed away this past Sunday. He passed away peacefully during the middle of the night. I wanted to let you know how much he enjoyed interacting on the forum and how highly he thought of the friendships that he developed on this site. He would always tell us stories about the people and topics on the board. If you would like to read his obituary or send your sympathies you can go to the website of Clinkingbeard funeral home in Gainesville, Missouri to leave a messge to the family.

David Barker

David,
       So sorry for your loss. He will be missed.

Mark

He was a friend and will be greatly missed

I'm so sorry to hear the bad news. Glad he lived a good life. here's the link

http://www.clinkingbeardfuneralhome.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=1270739&fh_id=10859

That is very sad indeed.  Very sad to hear.

I'm sorry for your loss, thank you for letting us know.

 I am so sorry to hear of his passing , so sorry  :-\

Sorry for your loss. I hate to hear it.

I'm sitting here stunned.  He was a friend that I never met.  

My condolences to the family during this time of grief.

What a sad day.....Thank you for letting us know, NoblesSon.  I admired him greatly.

So sorry to hear this news and for your loss.

Very sorry to hear about your lose

When I saw the registration application, and the reason for registering I knew. I can't express how much I will miss that man. I looked forward to every post he made and treasure the days that Tammy and I got to spend with him at his home a few years ago. 

my condolences  to nobles family.

we will miss him.

pc

Sorry to hear your loss for such a young man. Thanks for the notice.  bg

Certainly, he'll be genuinely missed.  My thoughts to his family.  He was a model for the kind of guy you would want here. 

So sorry for your loss. Indeed a man of integrity.

Our condolences to the Barker family.  

We had the pleasure and honor to visit with Br. Noble a couple of times.  Also his dad and son Tom.  Great people in a beautiful garden spot of south central Ozarks.

Here is a link to a page on our web site that has pictures of our visit with Br. Noble.

http://wardensawmill.members.ktis.net/pagev03nb.htm

I am stunned, we met Noble in August of this year, at his home.  I was looking forward to next years visit.

A good man gone, please give Sue and my condolences to his wife, and your family.

  So sorry for your loss,  Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.

I'll miss Brother Noble greatly.  His wit helped spark the forum.  My thoughts are with the family during this trying time.

My condolences  to your family,   I never got to post after I first joined but over the last few months getting back on here Ive run across several of his posts and  enjoyed reading them and  could tell he was a good man by thhe way they were worded and came across.   

Our thoughts and prayers go out to you and your whole family, he will be missed.

And his stoopid cows surely have missed Bro Noble.  Hope the family copes well with all that they will now miss.

I am also stunned. He was a big part of this group and will be sorely missed. Rest in peace bro. :(

Very sad news indeed. He will be greatly missed.

Thank you for letting us know.  I only know him from his posts, but he was a man of great integrity and also willing to help others.  A real example for the rest of us.

You and the family are in my thoughts and prayers.

Sad news indeed.

I always enjoyed his posts.

Thoughts and prayers to the family.

A sudden hole has appeared in my heart as I found this thread.  Bro. Noble was one of the dearest of friends whose hand I never got to shake.  His wit, wisdom and kindness will never be forgotten until I join him.  He left a legacy on this forum, a thread called, "Standing in the Need of Prayer", where we lift up the needs of any who are in need.  I don't even feel the need to make an entry there in his behalf, but a mental prayer for him and to him will go up every time I see it.  Rest in Peace my good friend.

A very sad day, Noble will be greatly missed.
His keen wit made me laugh many times over the years.
My condolences to the family.

David, I am so sorry for your loss.  We will miss him here on the forum.

So sorry to hear about Bro. Noble's passing. Thank you for letting us know.  :'(

My condolences to his family.

We wish to offer our condolences to the Barker family. Brother Noble will be missed by us.

I really enjoyed his wit in his posts.

I am so sorry to hear off Bro Nobles passing my deepest condolances to you and your family in this trying time  :( :'(

As Dang said his honesty,helpfullness and personality will still be seen by us and any person who reads his threads and posts on the forum he will be sadly missed by many  of us who never even met him in person but shared a common bond .

He was one man I would have truly loved to meet in person  :)

Best regards Christopher McMahon

Condolences from our family to yours.  As stated he will be greatly missed and the forum just won't be the same without him..... but just remember his wit and charm will be with many of us for years to come.  :( 

Very sorry for the loss of a great guy on this forum and to his family at home. Enjoyed many of his posts over the years. Always full of wit and insight. He will be missed by everyone who knew him.

Thank you Brother Noble.  With community, the good and the sadness come along.  I'll miss your posts.  We will miss you.  Thank you for being part of my life and our community.

Kderby

Our thoughts and prayers go with your family.  CLL

This is a real hard one to swallow, go in peace Brother Noble.

According to Webster, "noble" means "outstanding qualities."   Mr. Noble Barker's picture should forever be etched in all dictionaries defining "noble."  It will be in my mind.   

Only for a relatively short time did I know Noble.  We bacame good friends,we shared notes on farming, he helped save my daughters calf, I advised him on fish stocking and feeding.  His love for his family, especially grandchildren, was contageous.  He was a man I admired and will forever more.  His family will find comfort knowing we shall all meet again someday in heaven above.  Until then good bye my Noble friend.

Others have spoken the words that I feel.
My condolences.
Just seeing the name Brother Noble always brought a smile to my face because I could see the stoopid cows in my mind.

My condolences to the family. He will be missed by many. I had hoped to meet him one day as we had exchanged pms on several occasions.

My condolences to the family. I had the privilege to visit with him a few years ago. I will treasure the time I spent with Noble and touring his sawmill operation.

I am sorry to hear about Brother Nobel.
A sad day indeed
His wit and humor will greatly missed.
Good travels Bro Nobel...Good travels  ;)

 :( :'( :( :'( :'( :'(  My condolences to Brother Noble's father.  We are very sorry for your loss.  His passing is a loss to everyone.  We are saddened.  I first met him in person at a Pig roast several years ago and visited their farm three times over the past couple years picking up his Dad's Corley #5 sawmill.  We enjoyed every minute of those visits which were always shorter than I would have liked :(  One visit he had a toy steel wheeled tractor with a gas engine he'd put together for his grandkids out for Zach to ride  8) 8) 8)

My condolences to the family, Brother Noble will be missed indeed.

RIP Noble, I'll miss you.

I'm truly heartbroken to hear this sad sad news. I never met Bro Noble in person but feel close to him through our frienship on the forum. There is a large hole in my heart this morning as I try to take in this news. My heart goes out to his Family and his family hear on the forum. He will definatrely be missed.

Judy and I had the pleasure of meeting Brother Noble in person, a true gentleman. He will truely be missed. Our condolences to the family.

i was always amused at the line at the bottom of his posts.


milking and logging and sawing and milking.

it hit too close to home to be funny but was too real to ignore. pc

What a shock!

Bro will be sadly missed.

Our condolences to his family and to the Forestry Forum family, Bro was a great man and will be missed by all.

Oh no. This news just breaks my heart.

I love reading Bro Nobles posts, he was so intelligent and so funny. While I never had the pleasure to meet Noble, I did have the pleasure of buying lumber from him. He was truly a class act all the way.

One thread I remember him the most from was about the women in the Bible. I laughed and laughed at the comments. I will search to find that thread so you all can enjoy his wonderful humor.

God be with you Noble, we will miss you.

I am said to hear Brother Noble is gone. I always enjoyed his posts and knowledge and wisdom. He will be missed by many of us.

Randy

Sad news for all of us except Brother Noble.  He is in a better place.

When I logged onto the Forum this morning and saw Bro. Noble's picture at the top of the page, I knew exactly what it meant :-\. He will be missed, but our loss is his gain. My prayers are with the family.

Here's a short conversation I had with Noble that cracked me up ...

PM from Noble ...

QuoteReally appreciate the tip on Winchester Bob

Are you an old gun fan?

Me ...I'm only 52.

Noble ...

QuoteNow I remember why I don't talk to you much !

:D :D

I sincerely hope the "standing in need of prayer" chain he started will forever remain active as a tribute to a fine human being...

I am truly sad to hear of your loss.  I never met Brother Noble, but I enjoyed his posts.  A truly outstanding man.  My prayers go out for you and your family.

My heart sank when I saw Brother Noble's picture.  I have met few true gentlemen in my life, Noble was definately one and a good example for us all.

It is good he passed in his sleep and suffered not. 

I will miss his wit and wisdom greatly.

Well, that ruins my day.  Noble and I were special friends. We met personally awt the first pig roast and found ourselves connected at the hip, both shying from large groups.

We spent many evenings sharing email of intimate personal contacts, including a friend he had in South  America, Tom and the "Stupid Cows". I'm really going to miss him a lot.  His passing leaves a hole in my heart. I hope that he is singing with the angels now and telling  them of his friend in Florida.  Life is short and we'll all be back together again soon.

I have a special file of Noble's talks about Tom.  He sure loved his boy

I'm very saddened to hear of this loss. My prayers go out to his friends and family.

A poem for Brother Noble about cows and life:

The Cows At Night    
by Hayden Carruth
   

The moon was like a full cup tonight,
too heavy, and sank in the mist
soon after dark, leaving for light

faint stars and the silver leaves
of milkweed beside the road,
gleaming before my car.

Yet I like driving at night
in summer and in Vermont:
the brown road through the mist

of mountain-dark, among farms
so quiet, and the roadside willows
opening out where I saw

the cows. Always a shock
to remember them there, those
great breathings close in the dark.

I stopped, and took my flashlight
to the pasture fence. They turned
to me where they lay, sad

and beautiful faces in the dark,
and I counted them–forty
near and far in the pasture,

turning to me, sad and beautiful
like girls very long ago
who were innocent, and sad

because they were innocent,
and beautiful because they were
sad. I switched off my light.

But I did not want to go,
not yet, nor knew what to do
if I should stay, for how

in that great darkness could I explain
anything, anything at all.
I stood by the fence. And then

very gently it began to rain.

This is sad news.  My thoughts are with his family.  I met Noble several years ago and had an instant liking for the man.  He was the definition of "gentleman".

Thank you David for taking time from your grieving to let us know that your Dad is now with our Good Lord.  He will be missed by us as well.

Please add my thoughts and wishes to the family as well.  Sad day for many people.

I'm sorry to hear of his passing.  I will miss him.

I never met the man nor communicated with him personally but I enjoyed his posts and feel I too have lost a friend. My deepest sympathy to the family.

My last IM with Brother Noble was just about a month ago, when he was deciding on a brush saw to work on some area of the back yard to clean up for his wife. Kind of a little park.  :-\

I so enjoyed the couple of days that I "camped" out by his sawmill.  Helped David and Bro Noble bring in a load of logs, took a hike through the pasture and on down by the creek.  His home and family where warm and friendly.  Thank you David for sharing with us.  

I do believe I hear a bunch of  Angels laughing at a really good hog hunting story.  

As so many have already said, there is an empty spot in our world.  I never met Brother Noble in person and yet, as a country boy who grew up around farming and hauled many a can of milk from farms to a cheese factory, I felt a certain kinship.  I will always remember Noble and his "stoopid cows".  He and his family will be in my prayers tonight and days to come. 

Sad news, my thoughts to the family.

Ironwood

I have always enjoyed what Bro Noble has put up here, my thoughts are with his family.

That is very sad news, our thoughts and prayers are with his family. 

Gary

Sorry for your loss. I hate to hear it.  He was a Good Man

Woody

My condolences to all

Nick

This is not the kind of news one wants to get.  Jeff sent me an email earlier today.  This is now the second time (the first being Mark Mathys) that I am aware of that we have lost a pillar of The Forestry Forum.  If my memory is any good the picture of Noble that Jeff posted is one that I took at Rick Schmalzried's place many years ago north of Peoria. Noble and his wife Nancy would come to Pekin so Nancy could visit her Mother.  So Noble would take the opportunity to come and visit me at my home just outside Peoria or I would drive to Pekin and hook up at a restaurant to chat.  Becky, Jeremiah and I drove down to Noble's Farm in Ozark County MO. The spring of 2003.  That's when I brought back some cedar logs that I bought from him and brought back the tree stump that the beavers had eaten and Noble cut down to have me take to Jeff in Michigan later that summer in July.    One thing that I am sure most of you know about Noble was that his first love was for the Good Lord.  We stayed at Zanoni Mill Bed and Breakfast and the Morrison's (owners)  had arranged for Bryant River Gospel Group (the group that Noble sang with) to have an evening session of singing in the basement.  It was fun to see them and hear them play and sing.  Becky sang along with nearly all of their songs. Since I can't sing for hoot,  I just watched listened and enjoyed.   I also feel a secondary kinship to Noble's father,  Noble Barker Senior cause both of us are Caterpillar retirees.  So that officially means that some of Noble's blood is yellow because Caterpillar is a family also.   Over the many years, I thought of Noble often and I always felt that he had a brotherly love for mankind second to none.  Okay.. I have to stop now cause the tears are welling up in my eyes.  But before I do, I want to say that over the next few days I am going to make an Album in Facebook of many of the nearly 200 photos I took the spring of 2003 at Noble's place.   When I have finished,  I will make the album public and I will post the link to the album back here.  It will take a while cause I have terribly slow internet access speed.    I know Noble is with God now.    We will miss him

Sad news ,indeed . I always enjoyed his posts .Tom

Okay.... here's the start of the Facebook Album dedicated to Brother Noble.  Please let me know if it can't be seen.. I think I published as a public album.


http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.229833430408342.61317.100001450602080&l=d09682c8ec&type=1

 I went  and looked ,  thanks for sharing  :)

Yes, thanks.

Sad news.

Quote from: isawlogs on September 30, 2011, 10:10:30 PM
I went  and looked ,  thanks for sharing  :)

Same here.
Thank you for sharing.

the album is growing... up to 44 pictures as of 10:54 PM EST Sept 30th

Like others, I was stunned with I opened up the FF this morning and saw his photo at the top.  The first thought through my head was "oh no..."

We have many great people on this forum, and Brother Noble was one of the greatest of the greats.  We are all much poorer for his loss, yet at the same time much richer for the wonderful thoughts that he shared with us over the years.

My condolences to the famil.

Scott Smith

  Well I wished I had gotten this sad news eariler.  I would have went to the funeral to honor such a fine man.  Well if there are stupid cows in Heaven I know who is herding them around.  I hope the family finds peace at this time for Bro. Noble will be missed by all.

I was very sad to see Bro Noble's picture at the top of the page when I signed on. Though I never met him, we shared some messages about his days at Iowa State and about the life of a dairy farmer.

He will be missed.

My wife and I were privileged to meet Bro. Noble and Nancy, and one of the sons, at an early pig roast.  I recognized early on that he was a special person, and his posts were an "always read" for me from that point on.  I always got a kick out of his "stoopid cows" remarks.  I read his obituary, and it's obvious that his legacy is well established, and his place in life highly regarded.  His family might not see the extent of the comments here on the Forestry Forum, but I have hopes that Son, David will see to that. They will see the extent of our regards for Bro. Noble.  Condolences to the entire family.

Norm

Sad news to hear my condelences to your family

Davide

So sorry to hear of your loss..He will be missed                       Ted Wykle                                                                                                                                                                                                  .

Sorry for your loss my condolences thoughts and prayers to your family, Very nice picture tribute.

Such sad news, his words were special and uplifting to all.  He will be missed, of that I am sure.

My heart felt condolences,to all of His loved ones!The forum will miss Him,greatly.
Jim

My families thoughts and prayers go out to Bro. Noble and his family. The wife and I had the pleasure of meeting him and his family last year and are forever grateful for the time we spent there.

When I told my wife about Brother Noble's passing,  she recalled the time that the four of us,  Noble, Becky, Jeremiah (my son) and I were riding around Ozark County in my pickup truck with me driving.  Noble would tell me now you gotta keep your speed up going up this hill till you get to the top of the hill. (no prob with V8 pickup) and when you neared the crest of the hill the road suddenly veered to the left and of course the natural reaction is to let off the gas and hit the brakes.  Noble laughed and said "Ah you chickened out like everyone else does"     then he said,  when we were kids, we would take the hill full speed all the time for thrills.    I think as Noble got older,  he got wiser,  cause his pickup truck back in 2003 only had a 6 cylinder,  probably so he wouldn't be tempted to climb the hills of the Ozark Co. roads at speeds capable only in a V8.

At the end of our visit to Noble's in 2003.  Noble was driving in his pickup and we in ours.  We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant about an hour north of his farm.  I can't recall the name of the town.  Anyway, after lunch, he wanted to take us
by an antique equipment museum that he and Noble Sr. were actively involved in getting established.   Noble pulled up to the museum grounds in his pickup truck and I was right behind him in mine.  I pulled into the grass to park (no parking lot)
and got out of the truck.   About that time,  up walked a 6 foot tall Easter Bunny and I started getting chewed out for parking on the grass.   It seems that this Easter Bunny and a few other people had just finished hiding a bunch of Easter Eggs for
a hunt that was about to take place in an hour or so.    Noble never did let me live that one down as he frequently reminded me that I was the only person he ever knew that was nearly assaulted by an Easter Bunny.   
Whoever was in the costume was pretty hot under the collar probably both literally due to the costume and figuratively too. 

That is a great Noble Story. :) 

Riding around in a pickup with Noble either as the driver or a passenger was a treat. One time Tammy and I along with Noble stopped at a small store to get a coke. Tammy and I went in and Noble remained in our truck. Some how the truck alarm was set off just after we entered the store and we couldn't hear it from within the store. When we finished up and went back outside we found the horn was blaring and the lights were flashing and there sat Noble reading a book that had been laying on the dash and acting as if he was oblivious to the whole thing.  The book was upside down. :D

Nobleson,
I am very sorry for your loss.  Your father had and will continue to have a great deal of influence on this membership.  Though I had not met him, he was a model of decorum that all of us appreciated and that I respected greatly.

The Lord must have needed another good man upstairs.
Prayers to you and yours

David, thank you for letting us know.  I've been out of town for a while and am just catching up.  Your dad is going to be sorely missed around here.  It was my honor to chat with him here from time to time and to pray for he and his family.  I'm really going to miss him and am upset that we never got to personally meet and shake hands.

Prayers for comfort to you and yours from Alaska.

More photos has been posted to my Facebook Album on Brother Noble.  I have added comments about many of the individual photos including a photo of the house where Brother Noble was born and the swimming hole where he swam as a kid.

My prayers are with you and your family.

Our thoughts and prayers to you and your family through this time.

Sorry to hear about your loss. Our prayers are with your family.

it is heart wrenching to hear of his passing, but i thank the family for telling the FF family about bro.noble   he will be missed,. the story that jeff told about the pickup alarm going off brought tears to my eyes.... good tears though... thanks to bro noble for sharing his life online as well.

I am so sorry to hear the sad news.
Bro Noble and his stoopid cows will be missed.

Jon

A good person.  I'll sure miss his humor and insight on this board.  One of many people that came into my life from this here internet  that I wished I had been able to meet in person.

With tears in my eye's,I'm sorry for your loss.We talked a time or two about cows.Prayer's for the family.
Ed K

Thank you for thinking of us at this time, as we will be thinking of you and share in your sorrow.

I have been off the forum for a few days and this took the air right out of me. He has been as long as I've been a member. I am sorry for your loss. He will be greatly missed. My prayers go out for you.

Don

R.I.P. Brother Noble. You will be missed here.

I guess he is free of the stoopid cows. Sad to hear this news. :(

I am sorry to hear the news.  My son and I enjoyed  our visit with him and the tour of his place a couple of years ago.  He will be missed.

My condolences on the loss of your father. The stoopid cows comment always made me laugh. He was well-liked and respected here.

I'm so sorry for you loss and will keep you and your family in my prayers to get through this difficult time.  Brother Noble and I shared the same birthday and I'll always remember him on that day for sure. 

I'm coming late to this awful news, but it's no less heartbreaking.

Noble, and Tom, were two of my 'advisors', always good for 'fatherly advice' when I needed it.

I recall one message I got that made a huge difference to me and really made me think about something I was going to do, that I didn't. It was definately the right advice, I just couldn't see past my anger at the time.

It's so sad...

L.

So sorry for your loss. My condolence to you and your family.

The last few weeks have been tough around the FF.  :(

I am so sorry for your loss. Peace and blessings to your family.

I am sorry for your loss , you and your family will be in our prayers .

Quote from: sawguy21 on October 25, 2011, 09:48:55 AM
The last few weeks have been tough around the FF.  :(

Very much so.

Yip, and on top of it all mom's brother had quadruple by-pass Friday.

Bro. Noble, I miss you on this splendid Fall day, that is all I can say.

Bro Noble and Tom  are telling stories and pulling pranks, this fine day, entertaining the Saints.