My father, Clayton Barker, would have been 102 last month. He has joined that “great cloud of witnesses” cheering us on and I often sense his presence doing just that. What a legacy of love he has left! A few months ago I received a package in the mail. It had a return address I didn’t recognize, but gradually a recent email came to my mind that asked me for my address. This message was from someone who was going through their parents’ things and came across two wooden bowls my father had turned. He always signed his name with a wood burning tool and also wrote the type of wood the bowl was made of.

The following note was enclosed when the package arrived –

“Clayton Barker was a special man. I knew him as one of my high school teachers and the operator of Holly Cove (Campground). I spent many summer vacations at Holly Cove with my parents in our pop up trailer. Some of my best memories are from Holly Cove. That was a special time – Sunday morning breakfast and church service, the pool, the little pond, nature hikes with Mr. Barker, catching snakes, lizards, turtles and frogs, hiking, buying hot dogs and marshmallows at the camp store. As a biology teacher, he taught me about the “miracle of creation”. To this day I credit him with much of my enjoyment of nature. He had the ability to describe the intricacies of God’s creation in a way that came alive.

This former student of my father’s had come across the bowls my father had given her parents and thought I would like to have them. Since we have grandchildren I can pass the bowls on to them and the bowls are greatly appreciated!

The lovely expression in the note of the impact my father had on her life made me reflect on the legacy my father left on so many others, not just on me and my brothers. He LOVED to teach. He taught high school biology for 40 years. The first 33 years were at Wheaton Central High School, the last 7 at a mission school in Taiwan. He was a seasonal naturalist in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for several summers and conducted nature hikes and evening talks about the plants and animals of the Great Smokies. He began turning wooden bowls in his 70’s and taught many others how to turn wood. He was even teaching woodturning at age 91 just before he died.

The above picture is taken with one of his great grandsons. My father is “teaching” Caleb something about the worm he just brought “Great Grandpa Barker” to see.

The greatest legacy my father left was his deep love for God and His creation his desire to walk with the Lord his entire life.

As Dad was fading away the final 3 weeks of his life here on earth (he had been teaching woodturning and was weeding the flower garden until those last weeks) he went through various tests to determine his waning strength. It was finally determined he had a fast moving lymphoma. I was with my older brother and mother at his bedside when the oncologist told him about the lymphoma. “We don’t usually recommend chemotherapy for someone at 91 years of age. Yet if you want us to pursue treatment, that is your decision. If you choose not to, do you understand what that means”

“Yes”, my Father replied, “It means I will go be with my Heavenly Father who I have walked with all these years.”

My father lived a life of faith and he died peacefully that week expressing his faith. What a gift to my Mother, my brothers, and I!

Paul wrote to Timothy in II Timothy 4: 6-8 NLT –

6 As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 8 And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.

The legacy my father left endures – the greatest Father’s Day gift of all.