Richard Barber

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS -- Richard W. "Dick" Barber, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, went home to be with our Lord on Friday, April 15, 2011, in Grapevine, with his loving family around him.        Service: Military service at 1:30 p.m. Friday in Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.        Memorials: Should friends desire, donations in his memory are requested to Meals on Wheels of Tarrant County, 320 S. Freeway, Fort Worth, Texas 76104-9902, which was a blessing in a time of need.        Richard was born in Rockford, Ill., to Earle J. and Edna Barber on Dec. 18, 1927 (a birthday he shares with his grandson, Landon) and grew up in Hebron and Pecatonica.        He joined the Navy in 1945 at the end of World War II and was discharged in 1946. He immediately set off to college and became an aeronautical engineer in 1949. In 1950, he joined the Air Force and became a radar observer in the F-94B aircraft. He married his sweetheart, Beverly J. Shortino, of Rockford on May 15, 1952, and they both traveled to Alaska for a two-year tour of duty. Upon returning from Alaska, he graduated from pilot training where he flew many fighter jet aircraft and was assigned to air bases in Alaska, Texas, Illinois, Okinawa, Ohio, Thailand, Vietnam and Washington D.C. Richard retired from the Air Force at Andrews AFB, Washington D.C., as the chief of maintenance of the National Emergency Airborne Command Post, which was his most rewarding post. He was responsible for the maintenance package for the E-4B (Boeing 747) when the Air Force purchased three of these aircrafts to update the command post. Richard flew around the world with Richard Nixon in 1969. He and Beverly finally retired to Hurst and then moved to North Richland Hills in 1994 where they settled.        Richard attended Mid-Cities Bible Church where he received the Lord Jesus and is now united in Heaven with his wife of 52 years, Beverly Jane.        Richard leaves behind a multitude of family and friends.        Survivors: Daughter, Holly and husband, Donald Michel; son, Scott Barber; grandsons, Erin and wife, Brandi, Shaun and wife, Adrianne, Landon, Christopher, Gregory and wife, Denise; granddaughters, Stacie, Jordan and husband, Mike, Karen Michel-Holland; great-grandsons, Logan, Maverick; great-granddaughters, Megan and MaKaylee, Julia, Kadence; siblings, LuAnn and husband, Robert, Carolyn and husband, Dennis "Bubba," and Greg, his kid brother; special friends, Gene and Dorothy Stone and Avis M.        Loved ones gone before: Beverly Jane, wife; Earl Jr., brother; Dyan, daughter-in-law; and Didi, his loyal four-legged companion who traveled the States with him in his motor home. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Richard Barber please visit our Sympathy Store.