George Franklin Barmes, Jr.

April 23, 1924 - March 28, 2020

Sponsor

Bossier City – Another one of America’s Greatest Generation is gone. On March 28 2020, Maj (USAF Retired) George Franklin Barmes, Jr passed away peacefully at the age of 95. Due to the pandemic, a memorial service will be held at a later date. Those wishing to be notified when the service is scheduled may email George’s son Ron Barmes at RonBarmes@yahoo.com.

George was born in April of 1924 in Lewisville, Arkansas, the oldest son of the late George Franklin Barmes and Mary Willie Alexander. He was preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Patsy Sue Barmes. He is survived by his younger brother and sister-in-law Vernon and Carolyn Barmes of Stecoah, North Carolina; his younger sister Colie Downs of Lewisville, Arkansas; his brother-in-law Joe Jacobs of Hallsville, Texas; his daughter Barbara Buckley of Texarkana, Texas; his son and daughter-in-law Ron and SunOk Barmes of Bossier City, Louisiana; his five grandchildren Brittany Godwin, Brooke Odum, Erica Lazenby, Jonathan Barmes, and Amy Spoon; his eight great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

George served in the Army Air Corps during the last two years of WWII. He later became a B-29 navigator/radar operator. Shortly after being married in October 1952 he was sent to Okinawa, Japan where he flew on bombing missions over North Korea. In January 1953, while on one of those missions, his B-29 was shot down and he was captured. He was a POW for some two hundred days until the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed. He later served during the Vietnam War out of Tan Son Nhut Air Base. He retired from the Air Force in 1969 and moved to Texarkana, Texas where he taught high school math for many years. George and Patsy moved to Bossier City in 2016 to be cared for by their son and daughter-in-law.

George fought the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12) and will always be remembered for his kindness, goodness, patience and friendship and especially for his wit and sense of humor. Thank you to the staff of the Northwest Louisiana Veterans Home in Bossier City for the loving care they gave him in his final few months.

An oral history transcript detailing George’s experience as a POW can be found at this Veterans History Project link: https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.83604/
Published in Shreveport Times from Apr. 2 to Apr. 3, 2020

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, May 30, 2020 at 2PM at Chapelwood Funeral Home.

Previous articleCindy Lu Stevens
Next articleFather and Son Arrested for Alleged Sexual Assault of Child