We Meet Him Now Only in Memory

In a letter to the family of Barney Tracy, Paul Strand, Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Tinley Park, Illinois wrote: "What a man was Barney What a God-blessed individual... such a rapacious love of life. That is why he fought so hard at the end; he just didn't want to let go of life. Discipline and honor of a high magnitude; part and parcel of the makings of a great Dean of Students. Then, the love of nature of plants and flowers, of landscaping... A marvelous husband and well-respected father... Barney did well with the life God gave him, and now he is utterly safe in Heaven waiting for each of you." Barney grew up essentially without a father and without a stable home foundation, having to relocate many times throughout Chicago, Illinois, and Kalamazoo, Michigan. Like his older brothers he served his country honorably during the Korean War. During the height of the war he got married and started a family. After returning from the war and divorce he enrolled at Northern Illinois University thus becoming the first member of his immediate family to graduate with a college diploma. He pursued a teaching career with great zeal and would eventually earn his Master's Degree in 1970 at the age of 40. He would one day meet the love of his life, marry and have a family of three children. An admirer of nature, he would have a great enthusiasm for flowers and fishing throughout his life. Barney Tracy was part of the Greatest Generation of Americans born and raised in a tumultuous era marked by depression and war who developed values of faith, responsibility and honor. This then is the life story of Barney Tracy who asserted himself throughout his life as "The Kid from Kalamazoo."