Jack Harville Barker (12-20-12) service 12-22-12

Jack Harville Barker

Jack Harville Barker was born in Savannah, on Feb. 3, 1933, the son of the late Ralph Adkisson and Vera Harville Barker.

On May 17, 1952, he was united in marriage to Peggy Phillips, who preceded her husband in death on Jan. 13, 2004. On July 12, 2005, he was united in marriage to Mickey Dianne Rice, who survives.

Jack earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bethel and then spent three years at Cumberland Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He graduated from seminary with a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1963. He served Big Ivy, Mt. Tabor and Olive Hill churches in Hardin County. During his three years of seminary, he served the Cumberland church in Hohenwald, Tenn. On graduation from seminary, he accepted a call to pastor Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Clarksville, Tenn. While in Clarksville he earned a Master of Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. From there, he served seven years as pastor at Milan, Tenn., almost five years at Jackson, Tenn., four years at Olivet, and four years at Murfreesboro. He accepted the position of director of the Division of Church Growth and Evangelism with the denominational Board of Missions in 1986. In 1992, Jack became executive director of the Board of Missions with oversight of all the denomination’s mission work, both foreign and domestic. He held this position until he semi-retired and moved to Savannah in April 1999. His love of preaching continued in retirement as he served both the Olive Hill church and the Waynesboro church for seven years. Olive Hill was his first church and his last. While in Savannah, Jack coordinated a volunteer jail chaplaincy program and became an advocate for the inmates in a quest for more humane treatment and the building of a new jail. He was always a human rights advocate, especially during the 1960s and 70s. One of his favorite organizations was Habitat for Humanity.

In addition to his wife, Mickey of Savannah, Jack is survived by his children, LuAnne Barker Givens and her husband Steve, Judith Lea Burnham and her husband Ron, and Jay Barker and his wife Diana, all of Savannah; 11 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren; two sisters, Helen Alexander and Lois Ann Pierce, both of Savannah; two brothers, Joe Barker of Pickwick Dam and Rick Barker of Columbia, Tenn.; numerous nieces and nephews.

Jack also leaves Connie Hockaday and Jim Curtis, Mickey’s children who he considers dear friends.

In addition to his parents and his first wife, he was also preceded in death by two sisters, Willie Hinton and Dorothy Fariss.

Services were held on Saturday, Dec. 22, at 3 p.m., at Olivet Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Savannah with Rev. Duwayne Pounds, Monsignour Thomas Kirk officiating. Burial followed in the Memory Gardens at Savannah.