Remembering Bob Barkhouse
Family, local officials speak about longtime public servant
Bob Barkhouse was many things – a husband, a father, a brother, a teacher, a mentor – but his impact on the Yuba-sutter community will be what many remember most about the longtime public servant.
Barkhouse, who died Sept. 21 at the age of 89 due to health issues, worked on a long list of local, state and national committees and organizations over the years, even helping found several. Locally, he served on planning commissions and was a longtime Yuba City Council member, being honored as mayor on three separate occasions.
Barkhouse’s funeral is planned for 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, at the Ullrey Memorial Chapel in Yuba City. A celebration of life will be at Peach Tree Country Club later in the day.
“He was a busy man,” said Gayle Barkhouse, his wife of 56 years. “He was always on boards and things that involved teaching. He loved education. He was a thinker and he could think outside the box. He was a listener too, and someone who could fix things by coming up with ideas and working them out.”
The Meridian native grew up farming and attended Sutter Union High School. After graduating, he joined the U.S. Navy, where he was deployed three times during the Korean War. Following his service, he attended Chico State and later got into education. He first started teaching high schools before spending 27 years as an instructor of Yuba College’s Automotive Technology program.
He began his career in local politics in the 1970s during his teaching years. After serving on a number of local planning commissions and boards, he would eventually join the Yuba City Council in 1990, where he served a little more than 12 years and three stints as mayor.
“When he first got onto the City Council, he pushed for a third bridge because of the growing traffic problems. When that wasn’t going to happen, he started pushing to get a bigger Fifth Street Bridge. He also helped with the Plumas Street revitalization project,” said Gayle Barkhouse. “We didn’t think we’d be alive to see the Fifth Street Bridge completed, so he was really proud to be there and cut the ribbon during the opening ceremony.”
Some of the issues that were important to Barkhouse during his tenure on the council included transportation and infrastructure, Beale Air Force Base, economic development, city expansion and its general plan, and the redevelopment of downtown, according to Appeal-democrat archives.
On top of what he accomplished during his time on the council, Barkhouse will also be remembered for his work as a mentor for others in the community.
“I met you in 2006 as you gave me the great honor and opportunity to serve our community as a City Planning Commissioner and you’ve been a mentor ever since,” said former Yuba City Mayor Preet Didbal in a Facebook post. “To be with you on our new bridge for which you were the great visionary was a moment I will never forget. You were full of joy and it truly warmed our hearts. Your legacy will stay with us! I will miss you!”
Current Yuba City Mayor Shon Harris said everyone could learn from Barkhouse for how he conducted himself on a daily basis and his humility.
“Every time I turn around, I’m finding out more about him. He was so humble, you’ll never know what all he did, but the list is seemingly endless,” Harris said. “All these things Bob did, he did humbly. It just shows that we need to take more time to get to know people while they are still with us.”
Local Assemblyman James Gallagher also honored Barkhouse with a Facebook post after learning of his passing. He said Barkhouse was an instructor, mentor, leader and encourager, on top of being a good friend.
“He was all those things. He was a good man. A loving husband to Gayle and someone who always sought to do the right thing and brought a lot of others along with him,” Gallagher said in the social media post. “He was the biggest promoter of vocational education and CTE. He saw how much these programs opened the doors of opportunity and success for students. We are going to miss this man in our community. My warmest thoughts and sympathies are with Gayle and the family.”