Hugh Wynn Barton's Obituary
Hugh Wynn Barton born May 31, 1916 in Randolph, Tennessee died Monday September 12, 2011. He was the son of the late William H. Barton and Lidia G. Cowan. He was preceded in death by 4 brothers and 4 sisters. He moved to Memphis with his mother in the mid 1920’s and graduated from Tech High School and Bowling Green College in Kentucky. He entered WWII as a cadet pilot in the Army Air Corp and later became a Group Flight Commander and Primary instructor at the Army Air Corp Training Center in Clarksdale, MS. During the war he flew missions in the South Pacific along with several missions across North Africa and was over the “Hump” into India. He continued to fly after the war and became a pilot for American Airlines in the late 1940’s. After several years he left the airlines and became a pilot for the Choctaw Inc. in Memphis. It was there that he was put in charge of the scaffolding sales. After 8 years he left and started a concrete forming company. He later added scaffolding and started Barton Scaffolding. He formed two other companies: Steel Erectors and Island Ornamental Iron. After 28 years he sold his business to a company in New Jersey and began his retirement. In December 1991 his wife of 58 years, Edna E. Griffith died. They had been high school sweethearts. He was an active member of Trinity United Methodist Church where he taught Sunday school and served on various committees. He was also an instructor with Dale Carnegie Institute. He is survived by a daughter, Sandra Gibbs (Wesley) of Melbourne, Fl and a son William Barton (Patricia) of Germantown, TN. He leaves 7 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. Visitation will be Saturday from 12:00pm until 1:00pm at Memorial Park followed by a graveside service at 1:00pm also at Memorial Park. Memorials may be sent to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or to Trinity United Methodist Church. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home, 5668 Poplar Ave. Memphis, TN 38119, “Behind the Stone Wall”.
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