Dcn. John Barbour

Deacon John Barbour
Deacon John was born and grew up in Youngstown, OH. He moved to Newark in 1978 to take a job at Owens Corning Fiberglass and became a member of St. Francis Parish. After watching Dcn. Mike Franks and Dcn. Steve DeMers, he began to think about becoming a deacon. He would go to Eucharistic Adoration, and ask, “Lord what do you want me to do?” He discerned to become a deacon. He was ordained in 2012 and has been our deacon at St. Edward's for 11 years. He preaches thoughtful homilies and is active in the life of the parish, visiting the homebound, doing baptisms, and being active in many groups at our parish.

School/Degree: Chaney High School; Engineering degree, Youngstown State University

Work experience: Owens Corning, 9 years producing building/industrial insulation; Himont-polypropylene
Quantum-polyethylene, 9 years producing plastic pellets; Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, 12 years selling
pharmaceuticals; Pioneer Sands, 10 years producing industrial grade sand. He retired in 2019.

Other: John and his wife, Cindy, are active in the parish. Cindy is Chair of the Caring Committee, Chair of a
Funeral Luncheon team, and a group leader in Walking with Purpose. Among others, John is active in the
Knights of Columbus, Helping Hands, Men's Fellowship, and many church committees. They have three
children and nine grandchildren and often take trips to visit the ones who do not live nearby. Deacon John
enjoys working around the house, and in particular likes gardening. He enjoys traveling, particularly their last
trip to Portugal and Spain, where he especially enjoyed visiting Fatima.