Obituary

Robert Lee "Bob" Barnett, 92, of Plainview, passed away Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2005, at his residence. Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005, in Grace United Methodist Church in Plainview. Burial was in Hale Center Cemetery by Lemons Funeral Home. Bob was born Nov. 25, 1913, in Oak Creek, Colo., to Julius and Florence (Jones) Barnett. He grew up in the flat tops of Western Colorado. After leaving high school to help support his family during the Great Depression, he worked at numerous jobs including powerline and dam construction, lumberjacking and sawmill work and coal mining. Bob also worked as an engine watchman and hostler for the D&SL Railroad and as power plant operator for the Grand Lake Light Company. During his early working years, he continued his studies and was awarded an electrical engineering degree in 1940. Bob joined the United States Army and began his military service in January 1941. During his tour of duty, he taught at the Officer Candidate School while stationed in the U.S. He married Norma Elizabeth Bates on March 14, 1943, in Hale Center and then continued his service at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey. Bob was deployed to England in December 1944 and France in February 1945. While overseas, he served in the Signal Corps and was stationed in France on V-E Day. At the end of World War II, Bob was on his way to a new assignment in the South Pacific. After his discharge from the armed forces, he and Elizabeth moved to Muleshoe where he began his 33-year career with Southwestern Public Service Company. He worked as lineman, radio technician and relay technician in Muleshoe, Littlefield and Plainview. Bob retired from SPS in 1978. Not content to be idle, Bob began working again in various capacities including well service and drilling with J. O. Tenery in Plainview. Bob was a member of the administrative board of Trinity United Methodist Church in Plainview. He served the Boy Scouts of America as an assistant Scoutmaster for 18 years and was inducted into the Boy Scout Hall of Fame in 1992. Throughout his life, Bob spent countless days and weeks camping, hiking and canoeing with his wife, children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and generations of Boy Scouts. He was always ready to lead on down the trail. Bob is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, of Lubbock; children, Shirley Stevens and husband Tommy of Lubbock; Neal Barnett of Dawsonville, Ga., Donald Barnett and wife Ordana of Fort Worth, and Richard Barnett of Lubbock; grandchildren, Kelsey Paige Barnett of Lubbock, Danny, Matthew and Megan Barnett of Dawsonville, Ga., Misty Jones of Tulsa, Okla., and Travis Stevens of Stillwater, Okla.; two great-grandchildren, Taylor and Kylie Stevens of Stillwater, Okla.; and numerous nieces and nephews. The family suggests memorials to Grace United Methodist Church in Plainview or the Boy Scouts of America.