Paul Barker

NAPLES — Paul Lewis Barker, 71, passed away peacefully at his home in Naples on Wednesday, June 27, 2018. He had just finished working the garden that warm summer day. He was found in the shadow of the family house he built with his own hands.

Family was important to him — he was married faithfully to Carolyn Marie Barker for 45 years, until her death in 2014. He is survived by four sons, Nathan, Matthew, Aaron and Jedediah; and two grandsons, four and 10.

He was soft-spoken and fiercely intelligent, with impeccable integrity and honor. His aptitude for mechanical engineering allowed him to rebuild and restore many engines for boats, heavy machinery, antiques, race cars and monster trucks. Paul passed his common sense and wry sense of humor to his sons — men he was intensely proud of, and men who loved him deeply.

An avid hunter and skilled machinist, he built many hot rods, one of which he may have street-raced when he was as young as 14 years of age.

He was active in protecting the Naples community, working with his wife to combat the plans of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission when they proposed placing a nuclear waste facility in the Sebago area. They also rallied with neighbors to tackle Dragon Cement, whose blasting plan on Madison Mountain would have been detrimental to the community he so loved.

Visiting hours to celebrate the lives of both Paul and Carolyn will be held at Hall Funeral Home, 165 Quaker Ridge Road, in Casco on Saturday, July 14, from 2 to 4 p.m. Online condolences may be left for the family at hallfuneralhome.net