Bloomsbury man, Howard Barnes, remembered as farmer, big brother

Barnes was critically injured June 29 in a motorcycle crash and succumbed to his injuries Tuesday.

Howard R. Barnes Jr. loved farming, volunteering for the local emergency squad and riding his Harley Davidson, his brother Gary Read said.

Barnes, a Bloomsbury resident, was doing the last of those three things when he crashed June 29. The 56-year-old was thrown from his motorcycle when someone turned into a driveway in front of him, police said. Doctors at St. Luke's Hospital in Fountain Hill did their best, family members said, but he died Tuesday.

"For the most part, we were basically stunned," Gary Read said. "We wanted to wake up and find out it was all a dream.  My mom’s taking it hard."

Read, a 48-year-old Palmer Township man, said he's going to miss having his big brother around. "He always looked out for the rest of us."

Barnes worked on farms in Flemington and Glen Gardner and had run a farm equipment repair business out of Bloomsbury for the last 20 years, family members said.

Read Tom Quigley's complete report: Howard R. Barnes Jr. remembered as community hero and big brother.

See Howard R. Barnes' OBITUARY.

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