"And I heard the voice from heaven saying unto me,  Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; Yea, said the spirit that they may rest from their labours ; and their works do follow them."                                                                                                     Revelation 14:13

Deacon Eugene Barr aka Gene, was born to the late Dan Cunningham and Elise Barr In Lake City, South Carolina on March 5, 1933.  Gene attended the Florence County public schools. He drove the school bus for the Lake City School System for 3 years. After serving his country in the United States Army with a honorable discharge, he relocated to Winston-Salem. He began his career at RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company where he retired after 35 plus years of service.  After retirement he drove for FedEx for three years and was employed at Reynolds Park Golf Course for a number of years.  He enjoyed playing 18 holes of golf and he was a champion checker player.

Eugene was a faithful member of the New Bethel Baptist Church where he served as a deacon. He was also on the Layman's League Ministry and communion singer. In the community, Gene was a member of the Winston Lake YMCA and was chaplain of the Winston Lake Veteran Association.

In addition to his parents, Gene was preceded in death by a sister, Dorothy Kimbel and grandson, Sean Q. Stoddard. He departed this life Monday August 14, 2023.

He leaves not to mourn but to cherish memories , a loving and devoted wife of 32 years, Clementine Barr; one son, Dexter Barr;  four daughters Regina Barr, Shavonne Stoddard and Sabrina Stoddard all of the city, Shatea McBride of Dallas TX ; five granddaughters, Tsharra(Jamison) Floyd, Karesha Stoddard, T'ona McBride, Kionna Stoddard and Tomeka Franklin; one grandson, William McBride; one great grandson, Javier Floyd both of the city; one brother, Ed (Ann) CunnIngham, of Hemingway, SC; two sons-in-law, Hosea Britt of New York, NY and Tiffany McBride of the city; two sisters-in-law Gertrude Jackson and Angela(William) Penn Sr. of the city; one brother-in-law, Eugene (Midori) Gladden of the city; a special niece, Felicia (Mike) Pender of the city; seven special friends, Neal Brown, James Streater, Rev. William Taborn, John Thompson, MC Davis, Cecil Oliver and Rev. Gregory Williams all of the city; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, church family and friends.

Funeral services will be held 12:30 pm Thursday August 24, 2023 at New Bethel Baptist Church. The family will receive friends from 12pm-12:30pm at the church. Interment will follow in Parklawn Memorial Gardens. His remains may be viewed Wednesday August 23, 2023 from 12pm -6pm at the funeral home.