Charles Alfred Barker

Charlie lived his life by a saying from his dad: “If you are nice to everybody you meet, you’ll be surprised at how good life can be.”

Charles A. “Charlie” Barker was born at home in Climax, NC, to Jewel and C.P. Barker. He lived his entire life within a half mile of his homestead in Randolph County. After a short battle with cancer, he passed away peacefully at his home on Monday, October 8, 2025.

Charles was preceded in death by his father, C.P. Barker, and mother, Jewel McClintock Barker, his brother, Thomas A. “Tommy” Barker (Betty).

He is survived by his wife, Joann Routh Barker; his five daughters, Penny Barker Pinnix, Sherry Barker Barr, Annette Barker Robbins (David), Lisa Barker Freeman (James), and Angie Barker Murphy; his eight grandchildren: Daniel Pinnix, Erin Ramsey (Tom), Charlie Robbins, Kennedy Freeman, Henry Freeman, Margaret Freeman, Drew Murphy, Lilly Murphy, and two great-grandchildren, Kylie Pinnix and Grayson Lawson.

A Celebration of Life Memorial Service will be held at the Hylton Farm, 3407 Providence Church Rd, Pleasant Garden, NC, on Monday, October 13, at 3:00 pm. Visitation with the family will follow the service.

Charles was an active member of his community. He and his wife, Joann, were founding members of the Red Cross Civitans. In the 1970s, he started “collecting” Santa Gertrudis cattle, which led him to join the Guilford County Cattlemen's Association, the Randolph County Livestock Association, and the Santa Gertrudis Breeders of the Carolinas Association. He was also a member of the Grays Chapel Lions Club, where he loved volunteering to build wheelchair ramps. He worked in the lowbed equipment trailer business as a salesman and accountant for more than 30 years. He was also a chicken farmer for over 20 years.

Charles was an avid reader and spent recent years cataloguing the over 900 books he had read. He also loved farming, spending time on his tractor, and walking his farm land. His favorite part of farming was baling hay. He loved to sit by his pastures with family and watch his beautiful Santa Gertrudis cows. Over the years, his love for animals extended to his beloved dog, Ruby, as well as many goats, a llama, and a donkey.

Charlie had a very personal relationship with God. He loved that the Quaker’s way of worship is often very silent, but when a person feels moved to speak, they will stand and share their message.

Above anything else, Charles loved his family. He was the rock of the family, and he loved his gaggle of girls more than anything. He also loved his eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren just as much and cherished his special grand dog, Sookie.

Charles’ childhood was filled with farm chores, including caring for birds, dogs, cows, and other farm animals. He loved to share stories about attending Providence School and the many friends he made there. He then attended Randleman School. His final place of school was at Grays Chapel. That is where he met the love of his life, Joann Routh. His time at Grays Chapel was filled with friendship and courting Joann. He told stories of sitting with her on the bus riding back from basketball games. As he said it, she was the best-looking and the best basketball player he had ever seen. He was a member of the Beta Club and Future Farmers of America.

But he was best known as a storyteller. One of his favorite stories to share is that he went to see Elvis Presley when he was 17 years old in Lexington, NC. Then, for his 80th birthday, he went to see Willie Nelson in concert.

Oh, how we all loved to walk into their house on Christmas and hear him say, “Christmas Gift!” When he went places, especially to doctors' offices, he loved to tell everyone Merry Christmas—always wanted to make people smile.

He loved driving around on country roads. After they raised those five daughters, he spent time driving around with Joann. These were some of his best memories. Together they went the whole length of the Blue Ridge Parkway. They also took many trips to the Northeast. A favorite place of his to visit was Amish Country. He kept an atlas where he highlighted all the roads he traveled on during those trips. He often told stories of driving the North Carolina mountains with his brother, Tommy.

“People say to leave the world a better place than you found it. Well, I left it 5 times better,” Charlie Barker.

Instead of flowers, the family requests donations to the Grays Chapel Lions Club or the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 6704, Hagerstown, MD 21741. Or by spreading his endless smile by sharing a smile with someone.