Dale Barber

Mr. Dale Barber of Blytheville passed away peacefully at his home after a brief illness Tuesday, May 17, 2011, surrounded by his family.

Mr. Barber was born June 30, 192,1 in Guntown, Miss., the fourth of eight children of the late Clyde and Vera Elliott Barber. He was preceded in death by his parents; four brothers; one sister; and one great-granddaughter.

He leaves his loving and dedicated wife of 67 years, Josephine Ford Barber.

He is also survived by his daughters, Sandra (and Delmar) Ammons of Osceola and Carole (and Tony) Peterson of Blytheville;

Two sons, Barry Barber of Prescott and Doug (and Freddie) Barber of Little Rock;

His grandchildren, Walt Driver and Brad (and Tammie) Driver of Osceola; Kevin (and Luisa) Kidd of Laredo, Texas, Bryan (and Sara) Kidd of Paragould, Marti (and Jeremy) Johnson of Blytheville, Alex (and Kelly) Barber of Cabot, and Paul Barber and Katherine Barber of Little Rock;

A sister, Alloyce Simpson of Virginia Beach, Va.;

A brother and sister-in-law, Billy (Georgia) Barber of Pryor, Okla.; and

Twelve great-grandchildren, one great-great granddaughter and many nieces, nephews and other relatives.

Mr. Barber was a longtime resident of Blytheville and was the former owner of Dale Barber Furniture in Blytheville for over 30 years. He was a salesman who listened to his customers' needs and genuinely wanted to help them. He was such a good salesman that he received many awards over the years including being named Northeast District Retailer of the Year by the Arkansas Roadrunners in 1981, 1983, 1984 and 1987. He was also named Retailer of the Year for the State of Arkansas in 1992.

Mr. Barber was a terrific competitor, not just in sales but in sports and games of any kind. He had a sense of humor and loved to tease everyone. He was an avid golfer, still able to shoot in the 80s well after his 80th birthday.

He loved to travel and turned it into a competition of sorts. His goal was to visit every state capital. He fell short by only one state, Alaska. He was also a longtime sports fan of the Blytheville Chicks, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Ole Miss Rebels (much to the dismay of his family of Razorback fans).

Mr. Barber also never hesitated to share his views on many topics, including politics. He wrote many letters to local, state and national politicians, editors of newspapers and columnists; many of which were answered. He had handwritten replies from President Bill Clinton, Senator George McGovern, Vice President Al Gore and many more. He received an engraved invitation to President Bill Clinton's inauguration; this was especially unusual as Dale was a die-hard Republican.

For several years, Dale wrote a column called "The Conservative" for the Blytheville Courier News and later for another local paper, "The Village News," under the name "Sam Sez," to share his mostly conservative political views.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, in Cobb Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Greg Bowers, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Blytheville, officiating and where Mr. Barber was a longtime member. Burial will follow in Elmwood Cemetery. The

family will receive visitors from 6-8 p.m. Thursday at Cobb Funeral Home. Condolences may be e-mailed to cobbfuneralhome@sbcglobal.net