Barry Standley

Barry L. Standley
Evansville, Ind.
Barry Layne Standley, Evansville, attorney and former journalist, age 72, died Thursday, June 19, 2014, at Deaconess Hospital after a sudden illness.
Barry was born May 12, 1942, to George L. Standley and Betty Galle Standley, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He grew up in Indiana and graduated from Jeffersonville High School in 1960. While in high school, he worked for the Jeffersonville newspaper and earned accolades in reporting and photography. After high school, he entered the U.S. Marine Corps and served in the Reserve. Barry earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from University of Evansville in 1967, and began covering local and state government for the Evansville Courier. While working for the Courier, he became president of the Press Club of Evansville, and helped organize the riverfront event that later became the Freedom Festival.
Barry took a leave from the Courier to accept a teaching assistantship in journalism at Ball State University, where he earned a master's degree in 1973. He was a member of Sigma Delta Tau professional journalism society, and was elected to membership in Kappa Tau Alpha and Alpha Phi Gamma honorary journalism societies. He later entered the Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University, earning a Juris Doctor degree in 1976. While at Chase, he won the American Jurisprudence award for the highest achievement in Agency. Barry was admitted to practice in Indiana, Kentucky, and before the United States Supreme Court. He was a member of the Evansville Bar Association, the Indiana State Bar Association, the Kentucky Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He first joined the law practice of F.Wendell Lensing before establishing his own office. For 29 years, he was a public defender in the Vanderburgh Circuit Court, and at the time of his retirement from that position, he had served longer than any other individual in the State of Indiana.
Active in Masonic orders, Barry was a 32-degree Mason and had been a member of Evansville Lodge No.64 for 47 years. He also was a member of Scottish Rite and the Hadi Shrine. As a young man, Barry was active in the Order of DeMolay and won its highest distinction, the Chevalier Award, in 1963. He loved taking his grandchildren to the Hadi Shrine Circus.
Barry was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church, and for 20 years, he served on the Board of Directors and as pro bono counsel for Patchwork Central, an inner-city ministry. He ardently supported the development of public higher education and the establishment of the University of Southern Indiana. Barry was an early member of the USI Varsity Club and especially loved men's basketball. A member of the American Civil Liberties Union, he was a champion for individual rights. He was named a Kentucky Colonel in 1975, and in 1979, he was named to Outstanding Young Men of America.
Barry is survived by his wife of 43 years, Sherrianne Maddox Standley; his daughter Sloane Standley-Beasley (Ronnie, Jr.); and grandchildren, Leighton Olivia Beasley and Maddox Hartz Beasley; all of Evansville. He also is survived by his father, George Leland Standley, of Ormond Beach, Florida; his sister, Jaris Ann Standley Hammond (Bob), of McCordsville, Indiana; his brother, Leland Wayne Standley (Sylvie), of Paris, France; his aunt, Marcia Standley Batterton, of Greensburg, Indiana; his wife's family, Dr. Tom S. Maddox, Jr. (Jackie), of Owensboro, Kentucky; Dr. James G. Maddox (Alice), of Middlesboro, Kentucky; Jeanne Maddox George (Ron), of Stone Mountain, Georgia; John Mark Maddox (Judy), of Owensboro, Kentucky; and several cousins, nephews, and nieces.
Barry was preceded in death by his first wife, Joy Combs Standley; his mother, Betty Standley; his stepmother, Marie Murphy Standley; his brother, Philip Todd Standley; and his parents-in-law, Dr. Tom S. and Mary Anna Maddox.
Services will be Monday, June 23, 2014, at 10 a.m. at Browning Funeral Home, 738 E. Diamond Avenue, Evansville, with Dr. Don Griffith officiating. Entombment will follow at Alexander Memorial Park. Visitation is Sunday, June 22, from noon to 5 p.m., with a Masonic service at 4 p.m. Friends also may visit from 9 a.m. to service time on Monday.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Barry L. and Sherrianne M. Standley Scholarship at the University of Southern Indiana Foundation, 8600 University Boulevard, Evansville, Indiana 47712.