BIRTH  27 Jun 1954 Buffalo, Erie County, New York, USA
DEATH  20 Sep 2003 (aged 49) Tucson, Pima County, Arizona
BURIAL  Binghampton Cemetery Tucson, Pima County, Arizona, USA
PLOT G140-2 MEMORIAL ID 18169730

Robert George Barber was born June 27, 1954 in Buffalo, New York, to Raymond Henry Barber and Lena Marie Doyle Barber. His father was almost 57 years old and his mother almost 45 years old when Rob was born.
He had one older sister, Beverly Ann Barber, who was 21 years old when he was born. When Rob was about 2 years old, they moved to Cheektowaga, New York. Rob's father Raymond worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad as a machinist in the Ebenezer Roundhouse in Buffalo for over 40 years. This roundhouse was closed by the Penn Central Railroad in 1963. On November 5, 1964, when Rob was 10 years old, his parents and he moved to Tucson, Arizona. They first lived in an apartment on Forgeus and then moved to a house on Richey. Their third residence was another apartment and their final move was to their home on East 25th Street, near Swan. His parents returned to New York a number of times to visit Beverly and her husband, George Geisel and Robmade these trips with his parents. His last trip back to New York was when he was 15 years old, although his parents did go back for visits without him.

Rob attended Blenman Elementary School, Doolin Jr. High and Catalina High School, graduating in 1973. While attending Catalina High School, Rob was on the baseball team as a pitcher. At Catalina, he became acquainted with Brian Done, who is Debra Done's older brother. They saw each other around campus but were not really friends yet. Brian was in Gymnastics and Diving and Rob was on the Baseball team, so they didn't share activities. After high school, Brian lived in a house close to the Rillito River, southeast of Fort Lowell Park. Later, Rob moved in and it was then that Rob and Brian became good friends. Rob had skills in carpentry and hung doors and did other carpentry jobs on the house. By this time, Debbie had met Rob when she came to visit her brother Brian and a friendship developed. After graduating from Catalina High School in 1975, Debbie had plans to attend Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. By this time, an attraction had developed between Rob and Debbie, but she left for her first year at BYU for the 1975-1976 school year. Debbie came home the next summer and their courtship continued. She returned to BYU for a second year for the 1976-1977 school year. By this time Rob felt a great loss when Debbie returned to BYU and made a trip to Provo to visit her in his Dodge Ram pick-up truck. Rob had also made trips with Brian and a friend to ski at Sunrise Ski area near Greer, Arizona and listened to talk about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Rob absorbed what was talked about. He later took the missionary lessons and was baptized on June 18, 1977. Debbie did not return for a third year at BYU and worked at her father's printing company, Skyline Printing from 1977 until she left to work at UPS. On September 23, 1978, Rob and Debbie were married at the home of her parent's, Boyd and Jeanette Done by President Robert M. Read. They were sealed as an eternal family on September 26, 1998. Their life together continued until his death on September 20, 2003. Speaking at his funeral, his father-in-law gave these remarks concerning Rob's influence on the many young boys he coached during his six years in Little League Baseball:

Some people think baseball is just a game .. they are wrong. Baseball is about reaching deep inside yourself to catch the ball that can't be caught, and to hit the pitch that can't be hit. It is about the soul. Baseball is about bad hops, bad breaks, bad throws and bad calls. It is about striking out and making errors. It is about overcoming all those things. Baseball is about kids who become stars, stars who become heroes, and heroes that become legends.

Thank you Rob, for helping us learn a bigger lesson in life - to play to win but to play with honor. Beloved Husband, Father, Brother, Son, and Friend. Reverse: Beloved Father: Alesha Nicole, Candace Leigh, Chad Robert.
'Heroes Baseball' poem inscribed at foot of grave. A bench next to the grave reads: "Families are Forever: Rob and Debbie Barber, Alesha, Candace and Chad.

Source  Barber-RobertGeorge-Obit.pdf