November 4, 2012. Harper, Texas. Ken Barby.

Yesterday was the funeral of my brother in law,  Ken Barby.  It is difficult to believe that within four months  my sister Carol and my brother in law Ken have both died and now will be side by side in the cemetery in Williamsford, Ontario.

Ken Barby was a good man.  He loved God, his family, the Salvation Army and hockey, not always in that order.  He was quiet and unassuming but always dependable.  He loved maps and was good with them.  They visited us in Maryland many times so their route from their home to our home was well known except that every time they came they drove a different route, always a new one.   Once the map was in his mind it was there forever.

He played second baritone in both  Salvation Army bands in Hamilton and Owen Sound.  He was asked to play first baritone but  refused.  He was happy to play that minor part.  Of course, for years he was the band librarian, an unsung but necessary task, which was typical of Ken.  Never bragging, but always just doing his duty.

Carol and Ken were generous with our boys, inviting them to their cottage when they were young.  David was invited by Ken to spend the summers at the cottage, after Ken retired from the Bell.  David reports that Uncle Ken always treated him as a person, bot as an awkward teen.  High praise indeed.

I miss Carol and Ken and always will.