Warren Barker

Warren Albert Barker was born on March 21,1927 in Boston, MA. and passed away on August 20, 2021 in Boulder, CO at the age of 94. After growing up in Winthrop, MA, Warren joined the army on his 2nd attempt - by erasing and changing his vision test results during his induction testing in order to qualify, and served in Japan in an operational support division during the Korean war. He attended Brown University after his service, and married Jean Alice Barker on June 19, 1954, who preceded Warren’s passing by 3 years. Warren and Jean had 3 sons (Jeff, Allan & Bruce) in New Jersey while he worked as an engineer at an Esso refinery, but when the family was passing through Colorado in a Rambler towing a tent trailer in 1965, Denver relatives insisted he interview for the new IBM plant opening in Boulder.

While working as a long-range planner in copier & printer manufacturing at IBM, he discovered the mountains through his sons’ Boy Scouts troop, going on most of the monthly campouts and meeting other Scout parents and coworkers who were into exploring the mountains, becoming a charter member of the BBC (Big Blue Climbers, later Boulder Bikers & Climbers) – a close-knit group of friends who embarked on dozens of hiking, climbing, biking and skiing trips each year. Among his plethora of adventures, he climbed all 54 14-ers, and 90 of the top 100 peaks in Colorado (he took the 10% senior discount), and did a head-stand on top of most of them. He was also a daily runner for decades, winning his age in the Bolder Boulder several times and winning many local races, especially in his 70’s and 80’s.

Warren and Jean were longtime, very active members of Mountain View Methodist Church, where Warren volunteered thousands of hours fixing and building things around the church, as well as numerous service trips. A memorial service will be held at the church, 1900 Ponca Pl. in Boulder, on October 2nd at 3:00pm. Warren is survived by his 3 sons, 4 grandkids and 4 great-grandkids. Warren was a very special person, known for his generosity (especially of his time and fix-it skills), a wry sense of humor, his hearty laugh, and his legendary performances of the Owl and the Pussycat. His legacy and memory will continue for many generations. In lieu of flowers, donations in his honor can be made to Mountain View Methodist Church (mtview.org, GIVE button, Warren option under ‘Fund’), Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (wlrv.org/donate), or join a volunteer project in your area.