Jack Barnes

A graveside service for Jack Don Barnes, 84, of Belton, will be at 10 a.m. Feb. 5 at the Killeen City Cemetery.

Jack Don Barnes was born on March 5th, 1933 in West Bell County, Texas, in a settlement called Silver City, which sat on land that is now the site of Fort Hood. His family came to the area in the 1880s as local sharecroppers from Arkansas.

Truly a self-made man, Jack was very kind, funny, sharp witted, and full of curiosity and enthusiasm for life, as well as a determination and drive to transcend his humble beginnings and excel in everything he did.

As a student in the Killeen school system, he enjoyed participating in athletics. He was a high school quarterback, a pitcher on the baseball team, and he also played basketball and tennis. He always loved to hunt wild game and fish, and became an avid sportsman, traveling all over the world chasing down his quarry. From Arctic char in the Northwestern Territory, to spring bock and kudu on the African Savannah, Jack was always looking forward to his next adventure. He truly loved taking friends and family to exotic places to explore parts of the world they otherwise would never have been.

In 1952, Jack started his own plumbing company after returning from the Korean War where he served in the Navy, and later went into partnership with his older brother, Adrian. He expanded his entrepreneurial ventures into several other arenas, particularly in real estate development, including many area subdivisions and apartment buildings. Jack was also the founder, along with his wife Carolyn and daughter Colette, of the Big Red Barn brand of self-storage facilities.

He was always active in the local community, serving as president of the Killeen Industrial Foundation, National Director of the National Homebuilders Association, as well as co-founder and two-time president of the Central Texas Homebuilders Association. Always a believer in continuing education, Jack provided the financial backing for many individual students, who wished to achieve greater things.

Jack married Carolyn Kennard Barnes in 1981, and together, they built not only their incredible lives, but several thriving businesses, working side by side. They shared a wonderful and productive life together and experienced the world as a true team and partnership.

Tragically, Jack was preceded in departure by his dearly missed son, Bubba, who succumbed to cancer in 2012. Jack had always played an outsized role in the lives of Bubba's three sons, Adrian, Daniel, and Travis, with whom he enjoyed hundreds of hunting and fishing trips - and the impact of that role will be felt for generations to come.

Jack Don Barnes left us on the morning of January 30th, 2018. He passed peacefully in his sleep at home, surrounded by the family he so dearly loved, and who so dearly loved him.

Jack will be remembered lovingly by his cherished wife Carolyn Barnes, his daughter Colette Marshall and husband Anthony, son Ray Wolff, grandson Adrian and wife Melissa, grandson Daniel and wife Kaleigh, grandson Travis, grandson Corey Jack, granddaughter Lauren, and grandson Blake. He will also be dearly missed by his six great grandchildren.

The family would like to invite family and friends to a Celebration of Life Memorial at the Central Texas Homebuilders Association Building located at 445 E. Central Texas Expressway Harker Heights, 76548 at 12:00 P.M..

Service

Cemetery