Ralph Leon Barker

Ralph Leon Barker, age 95, of Aurora, Missouri, passed away on Friday, June 20, 2025, at the Overland Park Regional Medical Center in Overland Park, Kansas. He was born April 24, 1930, in Aurora, Missouri, and resided in Verona and Aurora until late 2023 when he moved to Lenexa, Kansas to be near his daughter.
Ralph was a 1948 graduate of Verona High School. He treasured his memories of playing on the small but talented Wildcat basketball team where his teammates and opponents became his lifelong friends.
On April 15, 1950, he married his high school sweetheart Hulda Anne Mulkey at the Methodist Church in Aurora, where they were active lifelong members. She preceded him in death on January 6, 2020, as did their son John Barker in February of 2010, as well as his mother, two sisters and two brothers.
Ralph is survived by his daughter, Jill Brandmeyer and her husband, Jim, of Lenexa, Kansas; one granddaughter, Emily Healy and her husband, Justin, of Wichita, Kansas; three great-grandchildren, Harper, Cowles and Sloane Healy and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Ralph retired after more than thirty years with the GasService Company and from the Missouri National Guard with 28 years of service. He greatly enjoyed many volunteer roles in the Aurora Community including long-time Little League baseball coach, chain crew member for the Houn Dawg football team, and scorekeeper for high school basketball games, as well as several civic and church groups.
Ralph was a true lifelong fan of St. Louis Cardinals baseball, was almost never seen without a Cardinals baseball cap, and rarely missed a broadcast game. He began running for exercise in his forties, and prior to his death was still "running" around his retirement neighborhood with a walker. He was an avid fisherman and spent countless happy hours on Table Rock and Stockton lakes in his bas boat.
Special thanks to his dear neighbor and friend of more than 60 years, Jan Seibert, and to his many church and community friends and relatives who have shown much kindness to Ralph and Anne over the past several years. Thanks also to the excellent caring staff at Delmar Garden Villas Lenexa and his kind new friends there.
A visitation under the direction of Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home, in Aurora, will be held from 10:00-11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 3, 2025, at the Aurora United Methodist Church with a funeral service to follow at 11:00 a.m. at the church. Burial will follow at the Maple Park Cemetery in Aurora.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the youth programs at the Aurora United Methodist Church or a favorite charity.
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