James Dan Barr

James Dan Barr

James Dan Barr, of Graham, went home to be with the Lord on June 21, 2022 at the age of 90.

Dan was born to Sherman Calvin and Ruby Eason Barr in Mer Rouge, Louisiana. The family moved to West Monroe, La. in 1934. It was there that he graduated from Ouachita Parish High School in 1950. Dan worked for Coca-Cola Bottling Company after high school. He then moved to Shreveport where he worked for General Electric Supply.

He married Margie Ellen Cooper in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1953. They were deeply in love and inseparable. They lived a long and happy life together and enjoyed many adventures across the globe. They raised two children, James David and Carol Anne.

Dan was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1955. He was stationed in Chicago at Fort Sheridan. He graduated from LSU in Baton Rouge with a degree in electrical engineering in 1961. He was employed by Western Electric and relocated to El Paso, Texas. He worked at White Sands Missile Range in anti-ballistic missile development. In 1967 the family moved to Houston, Texas where Dan worked at the NASA Manned Space Center for Philco Ford. He contributed to the Apollo space program.

He returned to Western Electric in 1968 and the family moved to Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific where he continued to work on anti-ballistic missile development and testing. The family moved to Burlington in 1971 and then to Colorado Springs where Dan worked at the Ballistic Missile Defense Center at Cheyenne Mountain. In 1974, the family moved back to North Carolina and Dan continued working at Western Electric in Winston-Salem and Burlington. He retired from Lucent Technologies. 

Dan was a board member of Mt. Hermon Community Association. He delivered for Meals on Wheels for many years. As a member of the Bell Telephone Pioneers, Dan helped to rebuild the children’s orphanage at Oxford, NC.

Dan will be remembered as a loving, compassionate man. He was straightforward and kind, and always willing to help anyone in need. Dan counted his family as his biggest accomplishment. He instilled in his children the importance of hard work and purpose. In his later years, he enjoyed spending time with his longtime friend Peggy Strauss.

He is preceded in death by his wife Ellen, his parents Sherman and Ruby, and his sister Martha Louella Austin. He is survived by his children, James David Barr (Amy), of Graham and Carol Anne Cormany (Kim), of Galax, VA, his niece, Linda Keahey, of Montgomery, TX, 9 grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren.

The family will receive friends at Rich & Thompson Funeral Home and Crematory in Graham on Saturday, June 25, 2022 from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. and other times at the residence.

The funeral service will be held on Sunday, June 26, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. at Mt. Hermon United Methodist Church where Dan was a long-time member.  The service will be officiated by Rev. Keith Porter. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.  

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Tunnel 2 Towers Foundation, 2361 Hylan Blvd. Staten Island, NY 10306 or St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.

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