John Campbell Barr of Heritage Shores in Bridgeville passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family. He was born in Summit, NJ and raised in Springfield, NJ, the son of the late John Callahan Barr and Kathryn Elizabeth Smith.
John graduated from Jonathan Dayton Regional High School and Rutgers University in New Jersey with a Bachelor of Science degree. At a very young age, John joined the New Jersey Army National Guard in which he served a total of 43 years. He also graduated from the Seagurt Military Academy NJ National Guard Officers School.
John was very active all his life and achieved distinction in many positions both political and civic. He retired from the Clayton Companies after 23 years and moved to Delaware where he remained a very active contributor to his community. He was elected to and served on the Woodbridge School Board for nine years. John was involved with Seaford High School as Business and Community Partnership Liaison New Tech Public Relation. He was also a substitute teacher for several years.
John was an avid fan of many sports. He played basketball in a senior league until he was 70 years old. Early in life he became a great fan of Bobby Thomson, a New York Giant born in Glasgow, Scotland, just like his dad. Later in life he had the great pleasure of meeting his hero along with Monte Irvin and Willie Mays and became good friends. When the NY Giants moved to San Francisco, he maintained the same loyalty to the team – in 2010, 2012, and 2014 the World Series trophy was brought to New York City and with the Giants Historical Society was celebrated with great honor.
John was particularly proud of his role in the Heritage Shore Military Club, an organization that he started with friend Lawrence “Tazz” Tassone (deceased). The program Flags for Heroes has been a great success and continues to grow. Among his new hobbies he was very pleased with his woodworking accomplishments.
In addition to his parents, John was predeceased by his adopted son, Sean. He is survived by his second wife of 30 years, Francoise whom he called Oise and his first wife, Patricia; his children: Patti Krebs (Robert), Billy Barr (Claudia), Margaret Barr (Paul – deceased), Kelly Dougard (Ron) and adopted son Kevin Barr; his grandchildren: Emily, Brian, Katharine, Eric, Sam, Allison, Maggie, Robert, Jack and Matthew; great-grandchild Mary Winter; and stepson Michael Hughey; he is also survived by his sister, Kathryn Drummond (who recently lost the love of her life, Edward, and her children, Eddie, Kathy and Colleen and a multitude of cousins in both the states and in Scotland.
We wish to thank the entire team of Vitas Healthcare for their kind care and support.
A Service of Remembrance was held on Friday, Aug. 9 at Parsell Funeral Homes and Crematorium, in Bridgeville.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to Ocean of Love, at https://oceanoflove.org/.
A Celebration of Life will be determined at a later date.
Please visit John’s Life Memorial at www.parsellfuneralhomes.com.