Eddie, age 53, passed away on Thursday, January 25, 2024. He was a native of Eunice, Louisiana, and a resident of Hammond, Louisiana.
Eddie has been refereeing basketball for 30 years, and in the past few years, he began officiating football and baseball. In 2023, he added volleyball to his list. Eddie loved playing volleyball and had never let his aging knees stop him. If you ever got to see him play, you know just how competitive he was. Eddie had been an active member of the Ponchatoula KIWANIS Club since 1994, serving as President twice and as treasurer since 2018. He received the Walter Zeller Fellowship Award from the KIWANIS Club in 2020 and the Ken Frahm Award in 2021. Eddie had been on the Strawberry Festival Board for many years, serving as the Entertainment Chair, but always willing to assist in any area or capacity. Simply put, he loved the Strawberry Festival. Eddie Barker was sincere, passionate, courageous, and dedicated. He loved his family unconditionally and without fail. Their family time was like no other. Together, Eddie and his wife Stacey raised two amazing children who have always been the center of their parents’ universe. Their adventures and vacations have always been special and will be remembered for a lifetime. The void left with them is unimaginable and painful beyond words. His memory will never fade away.
He is survived by his loving wife of 30 wonderful years, Stacey Bailey Barker; daughter, Bailey Barker Taillon (Lane); son, Brody Edward Barker; mother, Helen Gillard Barker; sisters, Traci Barker Simmons (John), and Shelley McNemar (Clarence); brother, Jay Barker (Shannon); mother-in-law, Sherry Robert Bailey; brother-in-law, Michael Bailey; his dogs, Buck and Trout; grandpups, Fancy and Dolly; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Eddie is preceded in death by his father, James Arthur Barker; father-in-law, Ellis Edgar Bailey; and grandparents, John Gillard, Doris Gillard, Lonnie Barker, and Mary Barker.
The family asks that everyone continue to pray for them as they navigate life without the most incredible and selfless person they’ve been blessed to know and call theirs.
Relatives and friends of the family are invited to attend a visitation from the chapel of Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home, 1190 Hwy 51 N. Ponchatoula, LA 70454, on Saturday, February 3, 2024, from 9:30am until 12:30pm. A funeral mass will follow at St. Joseph Catholic Church at 1:30pm.
A celebration of Eddie’s life at Memorial Park will follow Mass.