Richard Barnhart's Obituary
Richard Barnhart passed away at his home in Millington, TN at age 90. He lived an extraordinary life. He was married to his bride Nancy for 68 years. They raised 3 children, built 4 houses, started a successful company in 1969 and sailed around the world. Richard served as a scoutmaster, built and donated several structures for Young Life camps around the country, and donated millions of dollars to organizations that helped people. He was instrumental in starting a Young Life Club in Millington, TN, and has been involved in Methodist churches for 56 years. Richard leaves his wife Nancy, children Eric, Alan and Donna, 12 grandchildren, and 10 great grandchildren and a legacy of service and innovation.
Richard served in the Navy Seabees for four years. He received a BS in Civil Engineering from UMASS. The company he started, Barnhart Crane and Rigging Co., currently employs over 1800 people in over 50 cities. Several local projects that Richard led include the steel erection of the Pyramid, the Monorail Bridge to Mud Island, the Memphis convention center, the Med, and Bellevue Baptist Church. In 2008 he was inducted into the Society of Entrepreneurs.
He continued to work all his life. After retirement he made eight trips to the gulf coast with his specially modified tractor to help clean up after hurricane Katrina. He was on his tractor clearing downed trees with his sons a few weeks before he passed. For the last 21 years he has lived on 200 acres in Millington, TN (near Shelby Forest). In addition to the house, he built several structures, most octagonal in shape, from trees he cut down and processed with his sawmill. He has always been a hard worker, a creative engineer and a craftsman. He will be greatly missed.
There will be a memorial service at Memorial Park 5668 Poplar Ave in Memphis on February 10th
The visitation will be from 11:30 a.m. until the service time at 1:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to:
The Salvation Army
696 Jackson Ave, Memphis, TN 38104
Church Health Center-- Vision Center
1359 Concourse Ave, Memphis, TN 38105
To view the service online, click the link below.
https://webcast.funeralvue.com/events/viewer/97771/hash:C8C76005346160F6
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