Leland Wayne Barker

Leland Wayne Barker of Kingsport, Tennessee, loving husband, father, grandfather, engineer, and Dad Joke King, passed away peacefully on January 23 from complications of congestive heart failure. He was 81.

Wayne was intellectually curious and accomplished: After working as a pipefitter for Tennessee Eastman Company from 1960-66, he received a B.S. in Engineering Physics with High Honors from University of Tennessee, and was a member of the engineering honor society, Tau Beta Pi. He was then offered numerous fellowships for graduate study, ultimately accepting a National Defense Education Act Fellowship to study physics at the University of Florida where he received a Master of Science in 1970. He was accepted to the Ph.D program, but decided that he couldn’t feed his family quarks and photons, so began working for Eastman as a physicist and engineer in 1971, where he worked until he retired in 1995. His love of learning led him to later pursue a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from University of Tennessee, which he received in 1980. While he was working, he continued to teach and audit classes for “fun” in physics and calculus. Despite his intellect and degrees, Wayne’s friendly soft-spokenness had a Colombo-like effect, with people sometimes underestimating him until he engaged them in a sophisticated scientific discussion or came out with one of his trademark dry, witty, quips.

In addition to physics, he loved fishing, folk music, foreign travel, and felines. He and his beloved wife of 60 years, Christine McConnell Barker, traveled widely to Europe, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand, among other places, whenever their cats would let them. He also loved basketball, both watching and playing for Moose and Eastman leagues. He was often pictured effortlessly dunking the basketball in the Eastman newsletter, and would summarize his performance for his family with a wry “I’m a star”.

In addition to his wife Christine, Wayne will be deeply missed by his daughters, Cathie Burgin and Cynthia Cox; his granddaughter, Sarah Cox; his step-granddaughter Abby Hardt; his sons-in-law Jack Burgin and Duncan Cox; his brothers Floyd Barker, John Barker, Gary Barker and their families; his brothers-in-law Tom Palmer and Walton McConnell and their families; and many more, since everyone who encountered his gentle, funny, kindness loved him.

When we can gather safely, we will have a memorial service to share our stories and celebrate his life.