Obituary of William Barnes

William T. Barnes, age 94, of State College, Pennsylvania, died on Friday, December 6, 2013, in State College, Pennsylvania. Dr. Barnes was born in Pilot Grove, Missouri, on October 24, 1919, and was married for over 67 years to the former Dorothy L. Jones. Dr. Barnes graduated from Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, in 1941 and enrolled in medical school at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. Shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack, he joined the U.S. Navy and finished his medical school education in 1945 while in the service of the Navy. In 1946, he and Dorothy L. Jones were married. He continued his military service at the Great Lakes Naval Hospital in Great Lakes, Illinois, in charge of a ward for wounded military personnel, and thereafter at the VA Hospital in Leavenworh, Kansas. During his military tenure, he was awarded the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal. After military service, he began his civilian medical career at Geisinger Hospital (now Geisinger Medical Center) in Danville, Pennsylvania, with two years of cardiovascular surgical training in Toronto, Canada. While at Geisinger, Dr. Barnes started its cardiovascular surgery department, performed the first open-heart surgery procedure at Geisinger, and remained its chairman until 1975, when he continued his surgery practice in State College, Pennsylvania. Dr. Barnes retired from medicine in 2000, having served as the chief of the medical staff at Centre Community Hospital. Dr. Barnes is survived by his wife, Dorothy, of State College, his sons W. Stephen Barnes (Gayle) of State College and Joseph J. Barnes (Sandra) of Sewickley, Pennsylvania, and his daughter Carey B. Wheeler (Raymond) of Raleigh, North Carolina, seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Westminster College, William T. and Christopher Warren Barnes Memorial Fund, 301 Westminster Ave., Fulton MO 65251. As a result of family concerns, the family will hold a service for family members on Monday morning. On Monday afternoon, between 4:00 PM and 6:00PM, the family will welcome visitors at Koch Funeral Home, 2401 S. Atherton St., State College. Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com.