Thomas H. Barnes

Thomas H. Barnes (1956-2024)

Tom Barnes, 67, of Ware, Massachusetts, died peacefully in his sleep with his wife, Linda, by his side on May 28th, 2024. In the weeks leading up to his passing, he spent a lot of moments with close family and friends.

He was born in Springfield, MA, in 1956 to Major Herbert and Jean Barnes, and then moved with his family to Germany and then Florida due to his father's Air Force career, finally settling in Westfield, MA.

Tom earned his private pilot's license under the instruction of his father, Major Herbert Barnes, before graduating from Westfield High School in 1974. The following year, Tom joined the Marine Corps at age 19 where he served his country faithfully until he was honorably discharged in 1981 with the rank of Sergeant.

Tom would carry his love of target practice and shooting for the rest of his life, teaching those he loved how to safely handle firearms. Some of his other loves were vacationing in Maine, eating lobster and prime rib, reading, and his animals. Tom always had pets, either dogs or cats - many of which he rescued, and loved spending time with them.

Tom met the love of his life, Linda, in 1986 and they soon were married and had a son they named Tommy. Tom was able to attend his son's wedding to Tommy's now-wife, Colleen, in February of 2023 on Cape Cod, which was a bright moment in Tom's life and a memory that his family will cherish forever.

After the Marines, Tom became a machinist and worked in that industry for 20 years before teaching himself about computer networking, which was a hobby, and that led to a second career in the IT field that would last until Tom's retirement. He was always proud of his project management role in a large-scale Massachusetts RMV technology initiative that took him all over the state. After that, Tom became the IT Director of Palmer Public Schools in 2001, where he worked until his retirement. Fixing computers continued to be a hobby of his long after that, and he frequently helped friends and family with any computer problems they had.

During retirement, Tom ran and won a seat as a Selectman of the town of Ware, where he lived. He was also a part of the Conservation Commission and worked hard to keep the local habitats safe. He was also a member of the Elks club.

Tom was preceded in death by his father, Major Herbert S. Barnes, his mother, Jean (LaPalme) Barnes, and his sister, Bonnie Barnes-Prouty. He is survived by his wife, Linda (Swenson) Barnes, his daughter, Marisa Costello and husband Jason, his son, Tommy Barnes and wife Colleen, his brother, Tim Barnes and wife Carol Ann, and his sister, Anne Scheetz and husband Jeff.

There will be a private celebration of life. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to one of the following: New Birth Christian Church at P.O. Box 167, Thorndike, MA, 01079, where Tom attended church, online at Milestone Ministry https://milestoneministry.com/donate or P.O Box 366, Thorndike, MA, 01079 where he was a volunteer, or online at Here Today Adopted Tomorrow https://www.heretodaysanctuary.org/donate or P.O. Box 557, Brimfield, MA, 01010 where he helped with cat adoption.