Dan Barki

1943 - 2023

Dan Barki
November 29, 1943 - March 14, 2023
Dan was born in Berkeley, California 79 years ago to Gerda Straus Barki & Haim Victor Barki. When Dan was 2, the little family moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where his father was continuing his studies. In 1949, with Haim's newly earned Ph.D., the plans were for the small family of three to move to Israel where Haim had a position awaiting him in the Ministry of Agriculture. Haim went ahead to find a home for them in Jerusalem, became ill with leukemia and died at the age of 33, just before his wife & son were to arrive. Dan, at the age of 6, lived on a kibbutz in a children's house for 6 months and the Hebrew he learned stayed with him through life – in addition to giving Dan the amazing ability to pick up foreign languages with ease.
When Dan & his mother returned to Berkeley, Dan attended Emerson Elementary School where he made friends who are still friends to this day. On to Willard Jr. High and Berkeley High before going east to Brandeis where he studied for 2 years. However, that was 1964 and there was a lot going on in Berkeley, so Dan came back to participate in the action, graduating from Cal in 1966. Dan was arrested in the Sproul Hall sit-in, spent a night in the Santa Rita jail and later, given a choice of paying $350 bail or spending 3 weeks in jail, chose the latter. Dan remained politically concerned and active the rest of his life.
What then? Africa and the Peace Corps for a short stay, a year working at Chevron, followed by Boalt Law School, where he graduated in 1971. After practicing law at VISTA in Oregon for a year, Dan decided that skiing was more to his liking, so that's what he did for the next 4 years, working summers in a cannery.
When Dan returned to the Bay Area, his career included 20 years of tax-preparation at Suttle & company in San Francisco, and also included tour and commuter bus driving in the Bay Area and the Red Buses in Glacier National Park, a life goal, allowing Dan to do what he loved, seeing the world and sharing it with others.
Dan is survived by his two sisters, Margalit Mathan of Berkeley and Dalia Mathan of Magalia & Paradise; his brother-in-law Peter August; nephews Alon (Emilie) and Tal (Kim & Rose); and niece Siona (Toby). He remained good friends with both his first wife, Janis Plotkin, and his second wife, Julie Menack. And for the last 20 years, Dan & his loving partner, Beryl Voss, pretty much lived together when not traveling the world together, including Israel every few years where Dan remained close to his father's family. He is also survived by many, many cousins throughout the United States, South America & Israel whom he made it a point to stay in touch with; and a myriad of friends from hiking, politics, work, school and his skiing days.
As he requested, Dan was laid to rest at the Home of Eternity cemetery on March 16.