116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
William 'Bill' Herbert Barker
WILLIAM "BILL" HERBERT BARKER
Cedar Rapids
William "Bill" Herbert Barker, 91, of Cedar Rapids, passed away on Saturday, March 28, 2020, at the Gardens of Cedar Rapids. Private family services and burial will be in Cedar Memorial Cemetery. A Celebration of Life will be later on this year. Brosh Chapel and The Avacentre in Cedar Rapids is in charge of Bill's arrangements.
William was born Sept. 28, 1928, in New Virginia, the son of Rolla and Mary (Miller) Barker. Bill was raised on a farm near Truro and later moved to Springville, where he graduated high school with his best friend Wilmer Binley. Bill and Wilmer met and married Kopf sisters. He was united in marriage to Alice Kopf on Aug. 29, 1950, at the Armar Ballroom. Bill started working at Midland Forge in 1950. Later he joined Wayne Wolf to create Wayne Manufacturing in Cedar Rapids. He worked at Wayne Manufacturing for more than 50 years where he eventually retired. Bill was actively building antique cars, including Model A's, El Caminos, Bel Air, and Ford Coupes. He also owned a 1960 Pontiac, which was in the movie "Bridges of Madison County." Bill traveled the country in search of parts and cars. He also enjoyed Farmall tractors, and was the lead tractor one year for the WMT Tractorcade. A sign he was known for was "You can take the boy off the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the boy," which was featured in the New York Times. He enjoyed the time spent with his friends at car shows, and most of all he loved his family, especially the grand and great-grandchildren.
Bill is survived by his wife, Alice; daughter, Kathy (Richard) Grant of Marion; grandchildren, Casey Cramblet (Allie Ruedy) and Jessica Cramblet (Terrell Sykes), both of Cedar Rapids; four great-grandchildren, Kingston, Lucy, Emersyn and Oaklen; his brother, Jack (Doris) Barker of Marion; as well as many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Memorials may be directed to the family.
Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.broshchapel.com.
Daily Newsletters