My Grandfather, Roger Barr, was profiled in this month’s UUSS newsletter (Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento). Here’s a sample:
“To many of us he is legendary. Roger Barr, this month’s UUSSer, is truly an amazing man. After all, how many people start snowboarding when they’re 80 years old? Roger did, and he hiked from Yosemite Valley to the top of Mt. Whitney (43 days of solo hiking) to celebrate his 80th birthday. When he was 55, he did the same hike in only seven days, 35 miles per day. His 85th birthday celebration was hiking all 200+ miles of the Lake Tahoe Rim Trail. One summer, after his 80th year, he climbed the 10,000+ ft. Pyramid Peak 25 times!! This writer went on one of those climbs and decided at the end that she would rather be shot than try it again! Some of us in the congregation have talked about getting T-shirts stating, “I survived a hike with Roger Barr.” Clair Urness once likened a hike to some mountain top with Roger to The Bataan Death March! No, no, we all really do enjoy being with Roger on an outdoor adventure. He knows so much about the mountains, the topography, the flora, and fauna; and he definitely knows how to survive in the wilderness. Roger can regale you with his fascinating adventure stories like falling through the ice in a mountain lake, or being eyeball to eyeball with a bear (while naked!), or crossing paths with a cougar, or ending up in a snow-created tree well upside down with cross country skis—still attached—across the hole, or snow camping in blizzards, and near misses of falling off cliffs. Among Roger’s outdoor activities are backpacking, skiing (downhill, cross country, and snowboarding), rock climbing, windsurfing, trout fishing, and camping. He has traveled extensively over the North American continent, Costa Rica to Alaska, pursuing those interests. There’s no one who loves, knows, and appreciates the Sierra Mountains more than Roger; they’re his G.O.D. (Great Out Doors).
This entire physical prowess is surely enough to make Roger an amazing man, but his intellect is as keen as his outdoor IQ. He reads avidly and can expound on ideas from science to literature, making a conversation with Roger thought-provoking and intriguing. He says he has had a lifetime interest in natural history, all the arts, classical music, sculpture, painting, and language. Several times he has offered Adult Education classes at UUSS on heady subjects. Roger says that membership at UUSS enhances his life socially, intellectually, and spiritually. It’s definitely a two-way street because UUSS has been greatly enhanced by Roger’s presence.
Roger and his wife of over 63 years, Ruth, have been UUs since 1949 when they joined the UU church in Berkeley, where Roger was a student. They had both been brought up in more conventional religions that they decided weren’t right for them. They liked the motto of the Berkeley church, “Deed not Creed;” and when the minister there told them he thought the church was just what they were looking for, they decided to join. They are among the longest-term members of UUSS, active in our congregation for over 50 years.”
Roger Barr used to take boys like me hiking and fishing. It was my first introduction to the outdoors and I still fondly remember hinking into deep canyons to fish in the American River where ‘no one had ever fished before.’ It’s good to know he and Ruth are still alive and well.