John Morris Barkus

1949 - 2016

John Morris Barkus 66 years old After a long and courageous fight with cancer, John Barkus has passed on March 14, 2016. Surrounded by his loving family, he was blessed to have his loving wife Joan Leopold, five strong children and seven beautiful grandchildren all fighting along his side each step of the way. John was born May 31, 1949 in Brooklyn, New York to loving parents John Barkus Sr. and Helen Barkus (deceased). As John Sr. said, he will now rest in peace along with his mother. John is survived and will be dearly missed by his sister Victoria Campbell and brother Bruce Barkus. John joyfully moved to California in 1976 with his first wife Gita, eldest son and twins Robert and Eric to build a new life. Soon after he was blessed with a second set of twins, Rebecca and Elizabeth. The family now has seven grandchildren who have shared their love and passion for life with John and have made him happy and proud. In 2012, he married his cherished partner Joan Leopold and lived in Marin Valley Country Club. They developed many close friends in the community and all can share their heart felt condolences with the family on April 9, 2016, 1:00 PM at Adobe Creek Funeral Home in Petaluma CA. John has donated his body to Stanford Research Center in order to help others beat this terrible disease. Special thanks to the staff at UCSF, Hospice by the Bay, and friends at the Marin Country Club (especially his dear friend Richard) for their relentless support and determined passion to fight the battle of cancer with him. John lived his life fully and courageously. He always encouraged his children to be independent and to take risks. He loved his family, the outdoors, and a good debate. He was a good man who always stood up for those in need. In the words of Bob Dylan, of which he was a big fan: "All I can be is me, whoever that is" "Some people feel the rain, others just get wet" Donations may be made to Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation or Hospice by the Bay.