Richard R. “Rich” Barton lost his battle with cancer on July 21, 2021 at his home in Hermiston at the age of 73.
He was born on May 9, 1948 in Albany.
Rich graduated from Hermiston High School in 1966 and then went on to graduate from OIT in 1968 with a degree in design engineering and metallurgy. His career path led him to work for Battelle Northwest at Hanford, Precision Engineering in Albany, and Merritt Equipment in Oregon and Texas.
In 1977, Rich opened Barton Industries, Inc., which was a semi repair facility. He worked endless hours and always took immense pride in the work he did. He worked right alongside his employees and would never ask them to do anything he wouldn’t do himself. His broken trailer billboard was an icon for over 35 years on Interstate 84. Truckers from all over the eastern states would call and ask for his location. All he had to do was ask drivers if they had ever passed the broken trailer along the freeway between Pendleton and Portland with the Barton Industries on it. They immediately knew just what he was referring to. It was as if it was a famous monument along the Interstate 84 corridor. He retired in 2016.
Rich’s hobbies included traveling to Mexico every January, boating, fishing, and wild game hunting with best friend George Gritz and any other buddies brave enough to tag along!
Rich rode motorcycle and enjoyed riding with his wife and friends. Their adventures took them through Idaho, Montana, Washington and Canada. He really enjoyed sharing stories and pictures from their six trips to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. Rich never knew a stranger, just someone he hadn’t talked to yet!
Rich is survived by his wife, Patti; father, George Barton; son, Shelby Barton; brother, Robert Barton (Joan); sisters, Pamela Noble (Dave), Sandra Prock (David) and Janet Wright (Brad). He is also survived by a very large extended family.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Fern Williams and daughter, Tiffany Dawn, whom he missed every single day.
A graveside service will be on Aug. 11, 2021 at 10 a.m. at the VFW shelter at the Hermiston Cemetery.
A celebration of life gathering will be announced at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital or to Crazy Horse Memorial in Sturgis, S.D. in care of Burns Mortuary of Hermiston, P.O. Box 289, Hermiston, Ore., 97838.
Please share memories of Rich with his family at burnsmortuaryhermiston.com.
Burns Mortuary of Hermiston is in care of arrangements.
