UPDATE, more information I just received about the arrangements:
There is a memorial service and reception planned for Saturday, October 21, at 1:00pm to 3:30pm
Newton Highlands Congregational Church
54 Lincoln St, Newton, Massachusetts
http://www.nhcc.net/
We will be compiling a memory book to be shared at the memorial. If you would like to share a brief memory, anecdote or photograph, please sent it to Chris Barker at [email protected].
Please understand Betsy’s wish to not be overwhelmed with gifts, flowers or phone calls.
In lieu of flowers, we would very much support any assistance to the “The Rodney Barker Social Action Fund”, guided by Betsy, and administered by his church. The fund will be used to support causes dear to Rodney and Betsy’s hearts.
The Rodney Barker Social Action Fund
Newton Highlands Congregational Church
http://www.nhcc.net/donate.htm
(617) 527-3898
Original Post:
Barker was a member of the first Newton Highlands Area Council, president of the Hyde School PTO, spent eight years as a member of the School Committee and twelve years on the Board of Alderman. Details on his services will be posted as they become available.
Here’s a Village14 article from 2012’s dedication of Rodney Barker Square.
Very sad news. What a great public servant. When it came to an issue, any issue, Rodney was always all in. He was one of a kind.
I just spoke with Betsy Barker. She is doing well. She asked me to pass on a couple of requests to the community. First, she would prefer not to have a lot of visitors or flowers. Secondly, she has quite a lot of pureed food which she would love to share with anyone who needs it. I promised her that I would make this offer through this blog in hopes that people could pass on the information and hopefully find someone who can use the food. Betsy said that some of the food is baby food from Whole Foods and some is homemade and quite delicious. Please email me [email protected] if you know someone in need of this food and I’ll arrange delivery with Betsy. She wanted me to be sure to thank all who came to visit Rodney in these past months. One final note, the memorial service will most likely be next week.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, will be a lonely day for me. Rodney and I co-chaired the the study group that the Highlands Area Council set up to weigh the pros and cons of establishing a Local Historic District in our village. We always got together the day before the area council’s monthly meeting to go over where we stood with the project. I had penciled in tomorrow Wednesday at 3 PM as I did every month. I’d tool over to Rodney’s where we’d share a pot of what Rodney would term “good English tea” and discuss everything from the historic district project to the state of the City, the nation and the world. Only genuine English tea would do and it was something this Irishman would relish. We came up short on this version of a local historic district, but just the chance to work with Rodney and the other free spirits who came forward to help made the endeavor more than just simply worth while. It was a great ride and a veritable spiritual experience riding shotgun with one of Albion’s finest sons. God, I’ll miss him.
I love Rodney. My father in law, my business partner, a wonderful teacher and a fellow hiker. I will miss him dearly.
JJ Loscocco
I am deeply saddened by the news of Rodney’s passing. He was a role model for me in his passion for the grassroots institutions of Newton ranging from Neighborhood Councils, to elementary schools, to historic districts and to villages among other things, a full list is included on the Memorial to him in Rodney Barker Square in front of Bread and Chocolate and near Brigham House where he continued to participate in the work of the Highlands Neighborhood Area Council far beyond the ability of lesser souls.
I also will miss his disdain for foolishness that he could dismiss with a wonderfully stretched “Absurd!”
He was the first Chair of the Zoning and Planning Committee which we shortened to ZAP although Rodney would have preferred PAZ. When he moved over to the School Committee to try to educate them about the values of neighborhood schools, I succeeded him as Chair of ZAP. To me, he will always be “Mr. Chairman.”
Goodbye, Mr. Chairman. I’ll try to follow up on your comittment to Village Values.
former Alderman /City Councilor Brian Yates
It is hard to do Rodney justice because he had so many facets, linked together by an indelible personality, all the while manifesting deep concern for the welfare of his family, including his wife Betsy and his children, as well as his many friends, and of course, his community. He was one of those people who inspire genuine affection, and even love, and had a marvelous sense of outrage at misguided public policy or officials. I will miss him deeply.
Rest in peace, Rodney. He was so dedicated as an activist, advocate for the city and loyal Democratic campaigner. We’ll miss him for sure. It was an honor knowing him.
I will miss him as he was a loyal friend. He invited me to tea often to find out what was going on. I will miss tea, the stories of his life as a child in England, his compassion for others, particularly immigrants and his insatiable curiosity about absolutely everything.
I met Rodney many years ago but really didn’t get to know him well until I was elected Ward Councilor. We were usually on the same wavelength-not only regarding Newton matters but national and international politics as well. I always enjoyed his company. He had a wide intellectual mind combined with a sharp sense of humor. Seeing him losing his health was very hard but I never heard him complain. A huge loss.
I met Rodney during my short time with the City from 2012 to 2016. He stood his ground at each NHAC meeting I attended and called me out every time. He was relentless on painting crosswalks in the Highlands and one of the reasons they became a priority – in particular the intersection of Hyde and Centre. He was a good man and an advocate for ADA related issues that so often get overlooked. Yes, he will be missed. We should all honor his memory by taking a walk thru our neighborhood and noting how the crosswalks, wheelchair ramps, sidewalks and traffic signals can be improved to make it easier for those confined to a wheelchair to navigate around town…thank you Rodney. You made me a better Engineer.
Rodney was a good friend and fellow immigration lawyer for many years and will be missed by the immigration bar. One of my fondest memories with Rodney was the time we visited Disneyland in California while attending a conference. A few of us convinced Rodney to join us on the Thunder Mountain adventure ride-not something he was otherwise inclined to do! I’ll always remember his observation that the ride was “particularly terrifying in the dark.! RIP Rodney
Somehow, I have trouble picturing Rodney at Disneyland and even more trouble picturing him on the Thunder Mountain Adventure Ride. I can just hear him saying “This is totally outlandish” and totally absurd.” On the other hand, I really didn’t know Rodney until he was already confined to a wheelchair and he did relish telling me how he and other members of his party were shot at by right wing “Contra” militiamen in Nicaragua. And he’s one of the very few people I know who lived through the blitz in London with all its fears of food shortages and an imminent German invasion. People here talk about stress, but Rodney experienced first hand what it really means.
RIP Rodney
We’ll all miss you.
I am so saddened to lose Rodney. We have been friends for more than 50 years, having met at the Oberlin College Master of Arts in Teaching Program. For many years, Rodney and Betsy, Marian and I spent New Years Eves together. We have appreciated his sense of humor, his political views, his eccentricities, and his capacity to endure the consequences of the terrible disease he has been living with these past several years.
Rodney was a force of nature, and will be sorely missed, not just in the Highlands. As Bill Paille observed, he was an ardent advocate for pedestrian/wheelchair safety in a neighborhood that was and still is particularly in need of attention. All our neighborhoods should have such a dedicated advocate.
Rodney and I served together on the Newton Historical Commission until we failed to be reappointed by our friend. It made for a special bond. Rodney loved this city and spoke up forcefully in the face of the waste of resource we encountered with every demolition request. He loved entertaining friends by conducting tours of our villages rapsodizing over the abundance and quality of our housing stock. The architecture may not have measured up with where he had come from ( he probably wouldn’t have agreed ), but his adopted home was where his heart lay and where he chose to live out his life.
Such very sad news. Rodney has worked so tirelessly for this city, I will miss his integrity and his knowledge. Rest peacefully good man!