JAMES GERALD BARKER, DDS
June 6, 1943 — February 3, 2021
Generous, loyal, warm, supportive, loving, caring, and energetic—one of his Cal friends said, “he was a prince of a man.”
James Gerald Barker passed away unexpectedly on February 3rd following a heart attack. He was surrounded by his wife and family. He was predeceased by his older brother, Grayden Barker, Jr. in 2019. Surviving Jim are his devoted wife of more than 50 years, Connie Barker; his three sons, Daniel Barker, Timothy Barker, and Geoffrey Barker; daughter in-in law, Heidi Barker; his grandchildren, Sierra Barker and London Barker; and his sister, Deanna WhiteakerNicholas.
Jim was born on June 6th, 1943, to Alice Vinetta Barker and Grayden Alfred Barker in Tulare, CA, and was raised in the Central Valley for the first years of his life, residing in Tipton and Fresno. Jim and his family later moved to Sunnyvale, where he attended Fremont high school and ran track, wrestled, and played football. Graduating from Fremont High in 1961, Jim was off to UC Berkeley in the Fall of 1961. While at Cal, Jim pledged the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity where he served as President. Jim joined the wrestling team at Cal, made varsity, and lettered as a junior. He earned his B.S. in Zoology in 1965.
Jim began working part time at IBM in San Jose in 1967 where he met his future wife, Connie, who was a secretary at the firm and living with her two young boys in San Jose. Jim and Connie married in March of 1968, and moved to San Francisco in the spring of 1968 after Jim was admitted to dental school at UCSF. Dr. Barker graduated from dental school in 1971, and Connie and Jim’s youngest son, Geoff, was born later that year. Following his time as a dentist in Berkeley and San Francisco, Jim would go on to work in Stockton for about 35 years. Dr. Barker had an active and loyal patient following, not only because of his skills as a dentist, but also because of his calm and positive demeanor and genuine interest in the lives of his patients.
In addition to his long career in dentistry, Jim’s volunteer work was impressive. A duck hunter for years, Jim felt compelled to give back and was very active in waterfowl restoration efforts. Beginning in 1991, Jim built and monitored about 150 wood duck boxes throughout San Joaquin and Calaveras counties. He was awarded a lifetime membership to the California Waterfowl Association for his extraordinary work. Above all, his love of sports and devotion to Cal athletics were second to none. Jim was named President of the Cal athletics Big C Society in 2017, where he served for two years.
Jim was a wonderful man. In addition to leaving an outstanding legacy, he lived a very full life. Connie, as his wife of 53 years, was blessed to love and marry her life partner. She will miss him very much, as will his family and others who knew him.
The family will hold a celebration of life event later this summer in the Walnut Creek area. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Jim’s name to the American Heart Association (heart.org) and/or the California Waterfowl Association (calwaterfowl.org).
Please sign the guest book at lodinews.com/guestbook.