Zerney Burns Barnes "Zeb" Facs M.D.

Zerney Burns Barnes "Zeb" MD, FACS

Zerney Burns Barnes "Zeb" MD, FACS passed away peacefully at his home on May 5, 2020 at age 94. Born in Lakeland FL, he was eldest of four children of Zerney Burns Barnes, Sr and Eunice Pipkin Barnes. He attended Florida Southern College in Lakeland, enrolled in the Navy V-12 program during WWII and graduated from University of Miami with a BS in Biology and Chemistry. In 1944 he entered Emory Univ Medical School where he met and married Frances Shaw Barnes, MD, then a Pediatric resident at Grady Hospital in Atlanta. Following a residency in General Surgery at Kennedy VA Hospital in Memphis TN, he spent 30 years in the private practice of general surgery at Jackson Hospital in Montgomery AL. While there he served as Board Chair overseeing completion of a major expansion of the hospital, and was a well-known surgeon throughout south AL.

In addition to being a devoted husband, father, grandfather and physician, Zeb was an avid outdoorsman, a highly accomplished bow hunter and competitive tennis player. He was an avid reader of everything from the classics to Louis L'Amour, and enjoyed writing dozens of stories about his life and career for family and friends. He loved his large collection of Big Band era CDs, and his 1983 CJ7 Jeep Laredo on which he put 250,000 happy miles. Zeb had a great sense of humor, loved a good joke and had a hearty infectious laugh that will be missed.

He was predeceased by his parents, his wife of 62 years, Frances and his three siblings. He is survived by daughters Beryl Barnes Ierardi (Bob) and Roxanne Barnes both of Charlotte NC; grandchildren Drew Ierardi (Jen), Paige Ierardi Johnson (Erik) and Annie Ierardi Blackburn (Brent), six great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. A memorial service to celebrate Zeb's life will be held at a later date. Contributions in his honor may be made to The Salvation Army, where he often donated venison, or a charity of choice.