"Hearing of Keith's passing takes me back a few years when I worked with him at Proliant. He was such a special person--words are hard to discribe how kind and caring he was. He will be missed! God bless your family!"
In loving memory of
Keith Allen Barnes
July 11, 1940 - September 30, 2013
The next time you cast your fishing line on a quiet day or wrestle the biggest fish ever, remember Keith Barnes who passed away on Monday, September 30, 2013.
Keith loved to fish and he loved life, but not nearly as much as he loved his friends and family. He told us he fell quickly when he met Karen Vahl in 1963. They married on June, 28 1964, and loved each other for 49 years. He often called her the "catch of his life". Keith and Karen raised two sons together, David (Kara) and Andrew (Dawn). To them, he passed on his sharp business mind, steadfast integrity and the importance of being kind to everyone. Keith's kind and generous spirit lives on in the seven grandchildren he adored. Kate (18), Sam (16), Patrick (15), Shea (15), Madeline (12), Anna, (12) and Lily (9) will miss their grandpa very much. Through a fishing pole, he showed them what it meant to live a fulfilling life: Be patient, hold close the things in life that are most dear, and release the rest.
Born in Grinnell, IA, on July 11, 1940, to June and Arlo Barnes, Keith was raised in the small community of Malcolm, IA. His younger sister, Joye (Sandy) Outlar, remembers Keith as a boy who had a penchant for fishing, helping his little sister and strategizing at the neighborhood "marble ring" located in their front yard. Keith loved to learn, so he left Malcolm for Parsons College in southeastern Iowa. With a heart for adventure, he set his sights on Syracuse University where, in 1963, he earned an MBA in Business. Shortly after, Keith joined the Coast Guard Reserves, where he had the privilege to stand in JFK's Honor Guard.
His professional life took Keith and his family back to Grinnell, next to Fort Dodge, IA, followed by Albert Lea, MN, and finally Ames, IA. In these places, Keith and Karen met life-long friends. He spent the majority of his career in the food industry where he held several executive positions before retiring in 2003 as President and CEO of Proliant Inc., located in Ames. Many of Keith's colleagues visited him last week and we learned the values Keith held with his friends and family, he also demonstrated in business.
Keith gave of his time, talents and resources freely and poured himself into all endeavors. He was very active in United Way, the Ames, IA Planning and Zoning Commission and the Ames Angler's Fishing Club. He sat on the Board of Directors for The Iowa State Research Park, United Way and the East Pointe Association in East Gull Lake, MN.
Please help us celebrate the life of Keith Barnes, a husband, father, grandpa, brother, uncle, friend and fisherman. Visitation is Thursday, October 3, 3-6pm, at Grandon Funeral and Cremation Care, 414 Lincoln Way, Ames, IA. Funeral services will be Friday, October 4, 11am, at First United Methodist Church, 516 Kellogg Avenue, Ames, IA. There will be a lunch immediately following. Memorials may be directed to First United Methodist Church Building Fund.
Tributes
"To Keith's family I wish to express my condolences. I knew Keith briefly during his senior year in High School. His Sister Joye and I graduated together in 1962. We share the same Christian Prayer team and are thankful for the life of Keith and his Love of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. "To be absent from this body, is to be present with the Lord." "
"Memories of Keith, Karen and family will linger for ever with Bobbie and I, we have him and his family in our thoughts and prayers, peace for the family and love to all"
"My thoughts and prayers go out to your family during this time. God's care and blessings to all of you. He was a good man. "
"I am very sorry to hear of Keith's passing. We both graduated together at Malcom High School in 1958."
"Karen, you and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers in the coming days and weeks. Keith was a very special man and it was a honor to work with him over the years and to become friends.
God Bless"
"Keith Barnes is the type of person we need more of in this world. Always smiling and positive, always thinking of how to make things better. Keith the road will be smoother now and fishing water claim."