John Howland Barber

TORRANCE, Calif. - John Howland Barber, 87, died on July 10, 2007, in Torrance. The descendent of a long line of New England educators and Congregationalist clergy, he was proud to count among his ancestors John Howland of Mayflower fame.

He was the son of Harold Hayden Barber and Barbara Southworth Howland. Born Oct. 31, 1919, in Oakland, Calif., he was raised in Mexico City where he attended the American School from kindergarten until graduating as class valedictorian in 1936.

After a post-graduate year at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H., he received a Bachelor of Arts with distinction in English from Stanford, a Masters of Science in Meteorology from Cal Tech, and a Masters of Arts in Economics from the University of Wisconsin.

In 1942 Mr. Barber enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force, and after receiving his commission served in the Canal Zone, Vera Cruz, Mexico, and Abilene, Texas, ultimately serving in Rome as the commanding officer of Weather Central for the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. At war"s end he participated in negotiations with both Italian and Greek representatives to establish procedures for turning over U.S. weather equipment to their governments in exchange for commitments to provide continuing weather information to the world meteorological community.

After the war, Mr. Barber, who was fluent in Spanish, Italian and French as well as English, worked as a simultaneous interpreter at various international conferences until he was commissioned as a Foreign Service officer of the U.S. State Department. He served at posts in Managua, Nicaragua, Genoa, Italy, La Paz, Bolivia and at the office of Mexican Affairs at the State Department. He then spent five years as second Secretary at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. While there he received the Department of State"s Meritorious Honor Award for "his superior performance in overall political work, his contribution to the development program of scientific cooperation between the United State and Mexico, and his able representation of the United States in the Inter-American Indian Institute."

For his last tour of duty he was in charge of the Consulate General in Monterrey, Mexico, from which post he retired from the service in 1970. After that time he established a career as a free-lance simultaneous interpreter for the State Department and other U.S. government agencies as well as the Organization of American States.

Mr. Barber enjoyed choral singing and belonged to various singing groups wherever he lived, including the Washington Opera"s 1960 production of Verdi"s Othello. A communicant of Christ Episcopal Church, Cambridge, he served as chairman of the Music Committee and sang with the choir beginning in 1976. He was a charter member of the Easton Choral Arts Society and remained an active participant until 2000.

The Dorchester County Public Library was a special interest of Mr. Barber"s. He served several terms on its board of trustees, including one term as president. He served as treasurer of Friends of the Library and worked for a number of years with their used book sales. He was an active member of the Dorchester County Historical Society and spent two terms as vice president, as well as being program chairman for several terms.

In 1950 Mr. Barber married Eleanor Lee Thompson, daughter of the late Frank Thompson and Eva Smith of Cambridge. From this union there are two children, John Howland Barber Jr. of Saratoga, Calif., and Susan Barber Frink of Torrance, Calif., and two grandsons, Stephen Howland Barber and Thomas Hayden Barber. Eleanor Barber died in 1973.

In 1976 Mr. Barber married Helen Carmine Thompson. They lived on Oakley Street in Cambridge until retiring to William Hill Manor in 1998. Helen Barber died in 2002.

Mr. Barber has spent the last five years in Irvine, Calif., to be closer to his family.

Mr. Barber is survived by his children and grandchildren as well as by two stepdaughters, Susan Thompson Taylor of Salisbury and Helen Thompson Marr of Baltimore, and five stepgrandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at Christ Church, Cambridge, at 11 a.m. on Saturday, with the Rev. Walter E. Reuschling officiating. Inurnment will follow in the churchyard.

The family requests that memorial gifts be made to the Music Fund of Christ Church, P.O. Box 456, Cambridge; the Endowment Fund of the Dorchester County Historical Society, 902 LaGrange Ave., Cambridge, or to the Dorchester County Public Library.

Arrangements are being handled by Curran-Bromwell Funeral Home, P.A., Cambridge, MD.

To send letters of condolences, please visit www.curran-bromwell.com