A funeral service for Merle Dean Barr was held at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, September 28, 2017, at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Tarkio, Missouri. Interment was held at 2:00 p.m. Thursday at Tekamah Cemetery in Tekamah, Nebraska. Father Peter Ullrich, O.S.B., officiated. The Rosary was recited at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 27, at Davis Funeral Home, Tarkio, where the family received friends from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Services were under the direction of Davis Funeral Home.
Merle, the son of Willard Marian and Margaret (Rager) Barr, was born April 2, 1934, in Lebanon, Missouri. He attended Herman, Nebraska, High School.
On June 15, 1953, Merle was united in marriage to Helen Marceline Uhing at the St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Tekamah. They became the parents of four children, Larry, Robin, Carla and Kim.
Because of Merle’s employment, the family lived in multiple cities in Nebraska and Missouri. Merle was employed for the Defense Plant in Mead, Nebraska, Lebanon Steel, Lebanon, and McDonnell Douglas Corporation, St. Louis, Missouri, where he also earned his Electronic Technician Diploma. Later, Merle was employed by Control Data in Omaha, Nebraska, and following their purchase of the “Dairy Diner,” they moved to Fairfax, Missouri. In 1991, Merle was employed by Cooper Nuclear Station, Brownville, Nebraska, retiring in 1996. Merle passed away Saturday, September 23, 2017, at Tiffany Heights Care Center, Mound City, Missouri, at the age of 83.
Merle was an active member of the St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Tarkio, where he served in many capacities and was a member of the Knights of Columbus.
In addition to his parents, Merle was preceded in death by brother, Norman Barr. Survivors include wife, Helen Barr, Mound City; children, Larry Barr, Dayton, Ohio, Robin Whittington and husband, Jim, Fairfax, Carla Riley and husband, Gary, Tarkio, and Kim Barr, Overland Park, Kansas; six grandchildren, Toby, Carrie, Jamie, Tara, Shannon and Bridget; six great-grandchildren, Austin, Remington, Jordan, Alexandra, Will and Payton; sister-in-law, Norma Jean Schroeder, Tekamah; brother-in-law, Don Uhing and wife, Shirley, Uehling, Nebraska; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be directed to the Wounded Warriors Project. Online condolences may be left at www.minterfuneralchapels.com.
