Bobby Gene O'Barr, Sr.

Mr. Bobby Gene O'Barr, Sr., age 73, left this Earth on April 21, 2006, after a courageous battle with cancer. Bobby was born on May 5, 1932 in Houston, Mississippi, and graduated from Houston High School. He was a U. S. Air Force Veteran of the Korean War. Bobby took advantage of the G.I. Bill and went to college. He first attended the University of Southern Mississippi where he pitched on the baseball team and was a graduate of the University of Mississippi. He graduated from Ole Miss Law School in 1958. He then returned to Houston, hung his shingle and began a career in law of over 45 years. Bobby practiced law in Houston, in Okolona with his brother, Jack, and then got his break by getting a job with the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission in 1960, where he served as an Attorney Referee. During this time, Bobby honed his skills as an attorney and developed friendships with his peers that lasted until his death. In 1965, he moved his family to the Coast and began his career as a trial lawyer with the Cumbest Law Firm in Pascagoula. In 1967, he moved to Biloxi where he established his law paractice. At the time of his death, he was a partner in the lawfirm Denham, Backstrom, O'Barr and Hollingsworth in Ocean Springs. Among his many achievements he was appointed by President Jimmy Carter in the mid-70's to the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council and appointed to the Biloxi Port Commission by Governor Cliff Finch where he served in many capacities, including president, and was instrumental when plans for the commercial harbor were concieved. He was elected by his peers in the law profession as an International Barrister. Bobby was a member of the Krewe of Neptune where he served as a Duke in 1986 and King in 2000. He was a member of Sunkist Country Club where he served on the board of directors and as past president, a member of St. Marks Episcopal Church and a 32nd degree Mason and Shriner. His passion for the practice of law, fishing, hunting and playing golf were only surpassed by his love of being with his family and watching his sons play ball. In his later years he could always be seen at a ballgame or at Sunkist. Bobby will be deeply and sadly missed by his family and friends. Mr. O'Barr was preceded in death by his son, Richard Garrett O'Barr; his parents, Walter Morris and Maggie Whitt O'Barr, Sr.; two brothers, Judge Walter Morris O'Barr, Jr. and his wife, Frances, and William Gambrell and his wife, Jurel. Survivors include his wife, Jennifer Ryals O'Barr; his daughter, Mrs. Candace O'Barr Jones and her husband, Walker William Jones, III, of Jackson; three sons, Morris Clayton O'Barr of Biloxi, William Clinton O'Barr and his wife, Tammy King, of Memphis, TN, and Bobby G. O'Barr, Jr. and his wife, Daphne Humphries, of Biloxi; his mother-in-law, Nelda Ryals Guest, and her husband, Jim, of Lackland, FL; his sister-in-law, Christa Bond and her husband, Leo, of Gulfport; his brother-in-law, Darwin Ryals of D'Iberville; Grandchildren, Corey O'Barr and Bobby O'Barr, III, of Biloxi, Holly O'Barr of Biloxi, Leslie O'Barr of Memphis, TN, Anna O'Barr of Biloxi, Boyce Holleman, II of Jackson, and Maggie O'Barr of Biloxi; and nieces and nephews, Theresa Gail O'Barr of Portland, OR, Merry Margaret O'Barr of Seattle, WA, Jake Bond, Josh Bond and Jeni Bond all of Gulfport. A visitation will be held Monday, April 24, 2006, from 6 until 8 p.m. at the Pass Road Chapel of Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Homes in Biloxi. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church where friends may visit one hour before service time. Interment will follow at Gulf Pines Cemetery in Long Beach. In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials be made to the Bobby G. O'Barr, Sr. Trial Advocacy Scholarship at the University of Mississippi Law School, Attention Tim Walsh, P. O. Box 1848, University, MS 38677, St. Marks Episcopal Church Building Fund, 123 Church Avenue, Gulfport, MS 39507 or The Catholic Diocese of Biloxi, 1790 Popps Ferry Road, Biloxi, MS 39532