Stanley Barber

STANLEY ROBERT BARBER

Wellman

Stanley Robert Barber, 91, formerly of Wellman, passed away Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016, at Oaknoll Retirement Residence in Iowa City where he had lived for the past nine years.

Stan was born in North Platte, Neb., on Nov. 3, 1924, the son of Robert and Amanda (Kannow) Barber. He lived in western Nebraska where his father chartered and owned several banks. He always was very proud of the fact that all of his father's banks reopened immediately after the Bank Holiday in 1933. At the age of 12, he moved to Boone, Iowa, where he graduated from high school in 1942. Stan enlisted in the Army Air Corps during World War II and trained as a B-24 pilot. After the war, on Jan. 26, 1946, he married his high school sweetheart, Corinne Scott. Following their marriage, they attended Grinnell College together. Stan graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1949 and then earned an MBA from Indiana University.

In January 1951, Stan and Corinne moved to Wellman when the Barber family purchased the Wellman Savings Bank. Stan very much enjoyed his 40-plus years in banking and in serving the Wellman community. He was a 50-year member of Asbury Methodist Church and active in community groups in Wellman, including as a city councilman, Rotary president and more. Stan was active in the Independent Bankers Association of America, representing the nation's locally owned banks. He served as national president in 1967-68.

Appointed by Gov. Robert Ray, Stan served on the State Board of Public Instruction (1970-73) and the State Board of Regents (1973-79). Stan also served on the boards of the Hoover Presidential Foundation in West Branch and the Mamie Eisenhower Birthplace Foundation in Boone. He was an adjunct professor at the University of Iowa (1972-73), teaching money and banking.

Stan and Corinne met as lifeguards in high school. Stan continued his love for swimming throughout his life. He was a member of his high school and college swim teams and swam in the Iowa Games and the Arizona Senior Olympics in later years. He continued swimming at Oaknoll and, until a year ago, was able to participate in aquacize sessions several times a week. He enjoyed entertaining neighborhood children and friends in his backyard swimming pool and his family always was proud that he did most of the pool maintenance himself.

Stan is survived by his daughter, Ann Doyle and her significant other, Daniel Collins, of Coralville; and his son, Scott and his wife, Tonya, and their children, Amanda and Charles of Fort Collins, Colo.

He was preceded in death by his wife, his parents, his brother and his son-in-law, Daniel Doyle.

Celebration of Life Service will be held 10:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 29, at Asbury United Methodist Church in Wellman. Pastor Moody Colorado will officiate. Burial will be in the Wellman Cemetery. Visitation will be from 2 to 7 p.m. Thursday, where the family will greet friends from 2 to 4 and 5 to 7 p.m. at the Powell Funeral Home in Wellman.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Mid-Prairie Foundation, Mercy Hospital Foundation, Oaknoll Foundation and Hoover Presidential Foundation.