John Rhodes Barker

John Rhodes Barker, “JB”, 64, of Warren, passed away after a heroic, decades-long battle with Parkinson’s disease on June 12th surrounded by family and friends. John was born on August 11, 1960 in Providence, RI and grew up in Seekonk, MA. He graduated from Hamilton College in 1983 and later became the owner of ES Products, a roofing manufacturing company. John operated ES for over 18 years.

John purchased his beloved Firefly, a Herreshoff S boat in 1992. Out of the gate he was a force to be reckoned with in a class of very experienced sailors, and he placed first in many races. In 2002, 2003, 2004 he won the overall Narragansett Bay Herreshoff S Boat championship with his faithful crew, Jelte Ligthart, Matt Kirchner, and Paul & Jason Bestoso. John gave back to the S Class community by working with Ken Upham, Rick McNeil, Frank McCaffrey and Pete Hallock to help publish the 1994 S Class Registry. This major publication compressed 75 years of Herreshoff racing history into a book that tracked the lines of ownership and the culture of the S Class, a boat that set the standard of racing on Narragansett Bay, Larchmont, Quissett Harbor and Booth Bay. John also raced in Touisset’s Town Class on Widget and in the frostbiting International Penguin Class.

John was always ready with a joke and enjoyed spending time at the Touisset Point Community Club and the Bristol Yacht Club. He was a talented furniture maker, and loved to design and invent things. John was a world traveler whose favorite adventures included hiking through the mountains of Nepal and sharing a campsite with a yak in a rare summer blizzard. More recently, he played a mean game of Scrabble and looked forward to working on the daily NYT crossword with his college friend Ellen Minor. John was predeceased by his father, James Rhodes Barker. He will be greatly missed by his wife Sally, his beloved daughters Lily and Julia, mother Elizabeth Bevan Barker, brother Robert Ames Barker, a large extended family, and many lifelong friends.

The family would like to thank the Visiting Nurse Home & Hospice, especially Celia Raymond, John’s caregiver Melinda Clark, and his entire medical & support teams. Contributions to John’s memory can be made to Rhode Island PBS. A celebration of John’s life will be announced at a later date.