SHERIDAN - Funeral services for Gabriel B. Barker, 80, will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Immanuel Lutheran Church with the Rev. William Heine officiating. Committal services with military honors provided by the American Legion and Wyoming Army National Guard will follow at Sheridan Municipal Cemetery. Viewing and prayer service is from 7 to 9 p.m. today at Champion Funeral Home.

He died June 9, 2000, at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Sheridan.

He was born Jan. 28, 1920, in Parkman, the son of George C. and Ernestine M. Jaccar Barker. He was raised in the Sheridan area, attended the Little Blue School near Parkman and graduated from Sheridan High School in 1939. The day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, he joined the U.S. Navy. He served as an aviation machinist's mate, second class, with the aviation repair and overhaul unit in the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific during World War II.

He married Esther Evelyn Berry on Oct. 31, 1943. After the war, they lived in San Diego for 1 1/2 years. They moved to Sheridan, where he joined his brothers in the ownership and operation of Barker Brothers Construction.

His greatest enjoyment was spending time with his family, relating stories and wisdom to all of them. He enjoyed visiting with friends, antique cars, hunting, shooting, reading and western history.

He was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the NRA and the Sheridan County Sportsmen's Association. He was a past member of the American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps and the Sheridan County Antique Car Club.

He was preceded in death by his wife in June 1984, his parents and one brother, Joseph Barker.

Survivors include his children, Karen Johnson of Sheridan, Ben Barker of Durango, Colo., Charles Barker of Sheridan, Evonne Barker-Zahedi of Minneapolis, and Cheryl Nelson of Omaha; his four brothers, George Barker, Robert M. Barker, Philip Barker and Eugene Barker, all of Sheridan; eight grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1300 W. 5th St., Sheridan or the Bozeman Trail Association, in care of Delphine Toner, First Interstate Bank, P.O. Box 2007, Sheridan 82801.

Casper Star-Tribune - June 12, 2000.