James Joseph Barbour

James Joseph Barbour, 82, of Southington, CT, died Wednesday September 29th at the Hospital of Central Connecticut, New Britain, CT.  He was preceded in death by his wife, the former Marcille E. Munley, who died August 2, 2011.

Born in Carbondale, son of the late Gerald and Margaret O’Donnell Barbour, he was a graduate of St. Rose High School, Carbondale.  He was a veteran of the Army National Guard.  Prior to retirement, he had been employed as a lab technician for Cytec Industries.  In addition, he assisted his wife in the operation of Barbour’s Custom Draperies, Cheshire, CT.  Family was front and center in Jim’s life as a dedicated husband, father, grandfather, brother, and son. In addition to family, faith was also very important as he was a devoted Catholic Parishioner who walked to Mass daily prior to the pandemic.

Jim liked to set big goals and worked very hard to achieve them. After retiring, he lived his dream of building his own beautiful house in Delaware with Marcille by completing much of the build themselves. They enjoyed many years, good times, and a lot of family visits to their custom home that was walking distance to their boat dock. Jim was known as a quiet guy, but he always loved company, and every once in a while he’d surprise you with a long reflective, thoughtful conversation.  

His hobbies included woodworking, fixing anything with all his tools, boating, taking cruises, gardening and sudoku. Jim shared his gift of woodworking with family by building and gifting beautiful wooden tables, chairs, furniture, and even small doll beds. For those of us lucky enough to have his wooden treasures in our homes, we’ll cherish them as a memento of his love. As he was extremely handy, he always jumped in to help complete any project or fix anything that was broken.
In addition to his expertise with tools, he loved completing his Sudoku puzzles in pen and was known for his signature meatballs that he loved to make for all, but especially for the grandchildren.

Also surviving are his 5 children: James Barbour, Jr.; Marie Wolven and husband Mark; Margaret Mary “Meg” Barbour; Chris Barbour and wife Michelle; and Joseph Barbour and wife Huijung Kil; 5 grandchildren: Victoria Barbour, Abigail Barbour, Noah Barbour, Alex Wolven, Ryan Wolven; two daughter-in-laws: Margarita Barbour and Laurie Barbour; a brother: Gerald Barbour, Jr., Perkasie, PA two sisters: Jeanne Penzone, Carbondale; and Peg Waibel, Pocono Summit and several nieces and nephews.

He was also preceded in death by a granddaughter, Amanda Wolven.

The funeral will be Tuesday October 5th from the Brennan & Brennan Funeral Home, Inc., 55 Lincoln Avenue, Carbondale, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 am in St. Rose of Lima Church, Carbondale.  Interment, our Mother of Sorrows Cemetery, Finch Hill.  Friends may call Monday, from 4 to 7 pm.

Memorial donations may be made to the Cure Alzheimers Fund via https://gofund.me/a99fb6f7

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