Barry was born in Huron, South Dakota on April 18, 1941, the son of Robert J. Bitner and Mary Jane (Jansen) Bitner. Robert and Mary Jane separated soon after and Mary Jane and Barry moved to Oregon to live with Mary Jane’s parents in Albany, Oregon . Mary Jane eventually married Roy Young who adopted Barry. Barry attended schools all over the U.S. He joined the Air Force in 1958 and served for 5 years. He spent 1 year in Thule, Greenland, the remainder at Beale AF base in California.
In 1965 he met and married Janice Symanski in Muskogee, Oklahoma. They moved to Garland, Texas. Barry loved airplanes and in 1968 he got his private pilot’s license and in 1971, his commercial pilot’s license. They moved back to Oregon in the mid ‘70s. Jan preceded him in death in 2008 in Aurora, Oregon.
During Barry’s career he worked as a mechanical engineer in heavy equipment and in designing commercial kitchens. He retired at the age of 71.
Barry met Carol Glivinski at a dance class and they married in 2011.
Barry was an avid golfer and reached every golfer’s dream, a hole-in-one in a local tournament. He also had a fascination with cars. He liked drag racing and rebuilt his own dragster, winning awards at P.I.R. Barry and Carol loved ballroom dancing and belonged to Covington Dance Club. They also spent a lot of time updating their house and yard in Gresham where they lived until Barry’s death on March 6, 2023.
Barry is survived by his wife, Carol of Gresham, Oregon, his son, Christopher Young of Roseburg, Oregon, half-brothers Jay Bitner of York, Nebraska and Ray Bitner of Overton, Nebraska, half-sisters , and Roberta Lynn Krieger of Fife, Washington and Penny Jo.
A graveside service for Barry will be held at Willamette National Cemetery on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 10:00am
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