Robert E. Barnes

Robert Eugene Barnes, 79, Independence, MO, died Monday, September 13, 2004, after a short battle with mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer. Services will be 10:00 am Friday, at First Presbyterian Church, Independence MO; burial in Leavenworth National Cemetery. Visitation will be 9-10:00 Friday at the church. Contributions may be made to Cancer Research. Mr. Barnes was born May 16, 1925, in Osceola, IA. He was the youngest son of William Walter Barnes and Jessie (Downey) Barnes. After completing Naval service in the Pacific Theater during WWII, he attended and graduated from Iowa State University with an engineering degree. He married Coral Moore on January 4, 1947. He went to Kansas University for a masters degree in engineering. His career as a working engineer spans forty years. His interest in radio electronics started as a young boy when he and his friend Keith Ketcham made a crystal radio and talked across an Iowa corn field. During his career, he helped design air-to-ground navigation equipment and spent the majority of his career working with avionics communications. Mr. Barnes helped design an electronic replacement for the treadle sewing machines while working for P.R. Mallory Co. He was also a designer for the "Apollo Tracking System�. Mr. Barnes was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, and two sisters. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Coral (Moore) Barnes, of the home; two sons, Robert E. Barnes II, Lawrence, KS, and Richard Barnes, Roeland Park KS; a daughter, Janice Barnes, Redondo Beach, CA; and his five grandchildren, Meris, 14, Nicholas, 13, Alice 11, Natalie, 10, and Candace, 9, of whom he was very proud. Online condolences may be left at www.speakschapel.com. (Arrangements: Speaks Suburban Chapel)