MANCHESTER, NH — Richard “Rick” Barnes (March 20, 1955 – March 5, 2026) passed away peacefully on March 5, from complications of COPD and pneumonia.
Raised in Swampscott, MA, Rick was an avid hockey fan and player in his youth, He started his own small business sharpening ice skates for friends and neighbors who skated nearby at Clarke school park. He was well known for his adventurous spirit, and zest for life.
Rick served in the United States Navy in the submarine service. Following his service, he worked as a member of the Laborers’ Union. His career included the building of Bethel Hospital in Alaska, and along side his brother Mike worked at the Shemya Air Force Base in the Aleutian Islands. He also worked in Florida, North Carolina, and at the Philadelphia Shipyards. When he returned to New England, prior to his retirement Rick worked at Sullivan Mechanical Services in Wilmington, MA.
For the last several years Rick lived in New Hampshire, and enjoyed the outdoors, gardening, and working with his hands. He could create anything from custom cribbage boards to his biggest project of restoring a beautiful wooden sailboat which he sailed solo from Salem to Gloucester. He fought hard through his various health challenges.
Rick was predeceased by his parents Forrest and Elizabeth Barnes, and is survived by his daughters Elizabeth and Emily, of Mississippi, 8 grandchildren, and several great grandchildren, as well as his brothers Forrest of North Reading, Michael of Ireland and sisters Patricia (Dann) of New Hampshire, and Janice (Sullivan) of Gloucester. Services for Rick were private.
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