
Clifford Lewis Barker
UNION – Clifford Lewis Barker died in Union on Aug. 29, 2024, after a short illness. Cliff was born to Olive (Alcott) and T. Lewis Barker in Portland on July 16, 1929.
He attended Portland Schools graduating from Deering High School in 1948. Cliff was resourceful and had many part time jobs in high school including making Italian sandwiches at a local shop and working part time at New England Telephone Co. as an office boy which would develop into a 35-year career in a management position in the marketing department. It was at the phone company where he met and later married the love of his life, Joan MacCormack.
Cliff was most proud of his four children; Daniel, Gail, Kevin, and Karl and taught them some of his many skills in carpentry, plumbing, and shared his can-do attitude!
He and Joan bought a 150-year-old farmhouse in Cape Elizabeth that needed to be completely renovated. He and his brother-in-law, Dick, worked for months to get the house ready for his big family. Later, Dick sold Cliff and Joan a family cottage on Chebeague Island, which they eventually renovated into a year-round home.
Cliff retired from the phone company on a Friday in 1981 and on Monday he went to work shingling the roof of his daughter, Gail and her husband, David’s new house on Chebeague. Never one to be idle, he then went on to work for several carpenters on the island.
Cliff served two years on active duty during the Korean War and continued to serve in the Naval Reserves for a total of 12 years. He was honorably discharged as a second-class petty officer.
In addition to being an active volunteer on Chebeague, Cliff was a past president and secretary of the Cape Elizabeth Lions Cub, and a member of the Hill Top First Congregational Church in South Portland where he served as a deacon, an elder and as an usher captain for many years. He was a past president and treasurer of the Westbrook Investment Corp, and an auditor of the Telephone Workers Credit Union of Maine.
His beloved Joan passed away in 1992. In 1993, he married Shirley Stephens Wildes. Together they went on to continue to enlarge and renovated the island home. The family joked that they were Ma and Pa Construction! They became snowbirds and eventually permanent residents of Florida where they lived at the Villages for 16 years. He and Shirley worked for 10 years at the Hospice of Marion County Thrift Store. They decided that being near family in Maine was a good idea and moved to Union where they built a beautiful in-law space at Shirley’s daughter, Karen and son-in-law, Roger’s home.
Clifford was predeceased by his wife, Joan; his son, Daniel; and his brother, Ray.
He is survived by his devoted wife, Shirley who took expert care of him right up to the end; daughter, Gail (David), sons Kevin (Deb), and Karl; a sister, Carolyn Barker Murphy; his grandchildren Lauren Miller, Jonny Miller (Jocelyn), and Kristen Barker Fedder (Jared); his great-grandchildren Kensley, Everett, Carter, Jax, Sydney, and Molly; stepchildren Karen Wildes Mitchell (Roger) and Gregory Wildes (Olivia) and their families; step-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
Visiting hours will be Sept. 21, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Hobbs Funeral Home, 230 Cottage Rd., South Portland.
A luncheon reception will follow at the Barker Homestead in Cape Elizabeth.
In lieu of flowers,
donations can be made to:
The United Church of Christ at the Villages
P.O. Box 194
Oxford, FL 34484
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Join the Conversation
We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It’s a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. Read more...
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
For those stories that we do enable discussion, our system may hold up comments pending the approval of a moderator for several reasons, including possible violation of our guidelines. As the Maine Trust’s digital team reviews these comments, we ask for patience.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday and limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs.
You can modify your screen name here.
Show less
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your Press Herald account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.