Barry Rhodes Holcombe's long life journey came to an end as he rested peacefully on Sunday, October 4, 2026, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He had recently celebrated his 87th birthday.

Barry loved military history, recounting stories of his childhood and time in the Army, singing the Georgia Tech fight song, and being champion in Trivial Pursuit. His love of history, learning, and travel led to many trips in the U.S. and abroad with his wife Jean.

He especially enjoyed summer family gatherings in Colorado and at Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas. Many lifetime memories were made there with all four Holcombe generations.

Barry's life began on July 29, 1939, in his childhood home of Griffin, Georgia, where his father was Chief Deputy Sheriff of Spalding County and his mother was a loving homemaker and devoted Sunday school teacher.

His proudly remembered service in the U.S. Army's Military Intelligence Corps earned him the rank of Sergeant and brought him from the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, to Camp King near Frankfurt, Germany, where he met and married Jean Graham, his lifelong love, in 1964.

Their family grew to include daughters Marci (Mark) Burlison, Angela (Jon) Parris, and Candice (Ted) Holcombe. Five grandchildren and two great grandchildren filled their senior years with love, pride, and special memories.

Barry was passionate about education. Attending Georgia Tech and Georgia State University prepared him for a career in marketing and sales for industrial and electrical companies. After serving in several management positions at Siemens and Nelson Electric, he took on the challenge of leading his own firms in Tulsa and Wichita Falls, Texas.

After retirement, Barry and Jean enjoyed having more time to travel, and he combined his love of military service and his deep knowledge of history to serve as a docent at the Oklahoma Military History Museum in Broken Arrow.

The family would like to thank Live Well Hospice Tulsa and Legend at Mingo Road for their kind and compassionate care of Barry as he approached the end of his life.

A funeral service with military honors will be held at 2 pm on Thursday, October 8, 2026, at Moore Funeral Home's Southlawn Chapel in Tulsa.

In lieu of flowers, the family invites those who would like to honor Barry's life to make a donation to the www.okmhc.org/support, Oklahoma Chapter 5 of www.bluestarmothers.org/donate-now, or the charity of your choice.