Robert A. Barnes

Robert A Barnes reached a peaceful end to his earthly life on Saturday, September 5, 2026. He was a resident of Wesley Ridge Retirement Center in Reynoldsburg, OH. He was born May 3, 1927 in Cleveland, OH to Rev. Ernest and Ethel (Lanham) Barnes.

He is survived by his son Paul R. Barnes, DDS and his daughter Carolyn J. Barnes, RN, CCM, granddaughters Kate Barnes, DVM, Stephanie Barnes and Bethany (Jessie) Downey, PHMP and great granddaughters Emma and Olivia Downey. Following military service in WWII he graduated from Miami University, received a Master’s Degree from Columbia University, studied at the Juilliard School of Music and earned a Ph.D. degree from The Ohio State University.

In the 1950’s, he became Director of Instrumental Music at Broughton High School in Raleigh, NC before becoming Head of the Music Department and Director of Bands at North Carolina State University and conductor of the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra. He is the author of several published works including the college textbook Fundamentals of Music (McGraw-Hill). As a trombonist, his professional experience included symphony orchestra, theater pit, radio broadcast studio and Barnum and Bailly circus band work.

In the 1960’s, Dr. Barnes accepted an appointment to the faculty of The Ohio State University School of Music, a position he held for 19 years. During his tenure at Ohio State, he served for three years as Assistant Director of the School of Music, four years as Assistant to the President of the University and for 14 years as Dean and Director of The Ohio State University at Newark. As the first Academic Dean of OSU Newark, he oversaw the purchase of land, the design of a future campus, the construction of the University’s first buildings and the creation of a full-time University faculty.

In the 1970’s, he established and became the founding president of Central Ohio Technical College, an institution that would share Campus facilities with OSU Newark. Two years later, COTC became a fully accredited two-year college. Also, while serving eight years as COTC’s first president he conceived and implemented a unique cost-sharing plan in which one team of support staff serves two separate state institutions of higher education, creating not only academic and economic efficiencies but an enviable collegiality not often apparent on a shared college campus.

In 1980, he entered the world of business as president of United Carriers Corporation, the parent company of four trucking and trucking-related businesses serving 48 states with about 400 tractor-trailer units. Following 21 successful years in business, he retired at age 74. Due to his varied and successful career, he held the unusual distinction of being listed in both the Crowell-Collier Who’s Who in American College and University Administration and in the Marquis Who’s Who in Finance and Industry.

From early on, Dr. Barnes was continuously active in professional, civic and charitable organizations, often in a leadership capacity. He is a past president of the Ohio Trucking Association and former Vice president and member of the Executive Committee of American Trucking Associations in Washington, DC.

He served as Chairman of the Board of the Newark Area Chamber of Commerce and president of the Newark Rotary Club. He was a 16-year member and past Chairman of the Board of the Licking County Foundation.

For more than 50 years, he was an active leader in the United Methodist Church, including long service on the Council for Finance and Administration for the 1300-church West Ohio Conference. For 30 years he served as a director of First Federal Savings and Loan in Newark. He also served many years on the boards of the Licking County YMCA, Licking Memorial Health Systems, LeFevre Foundation, Weathervane Playhouse, United Way and Wesley Retirement Communities.

He was the recipient of numerous awards and citations for professional achievement and community service, including the Distinguished Service Award from The Ohio State University, the Lifetime Achievement Award from Licking Memorial Health Systems, and induction into the Hall of Honor of the Ohio Trucking Association. He was a WWll veteran of the U.S. Navy, battleship USS Arkansas.

Brucker and Kishler Funeral Home of Newark is in charge of arrangements. A memorial service will be held at the Wesley Ridge Chapel in Reynoldsburg on Saturday September 26, 2026, at 2 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Licking County Foundation (Barnes Scholarship Fund) or Wesley Ridge Retirement Center.

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