Gary Buren Barber, 84, of Gettysburg, PA, died peacefully at home on Monday, March 23, 2026.
Born August 18, 1941, in McAllen, Texas, Gary traveled all over the country with his parents, Van Buren “Bruno” and Lillian “Lil” Barber, who were farm and produce workers.
Gary joined the Marine Corps after high school and served honorably from 1959 to 1963, including tours in Vietnam. Shortly thereafter, I was employed by Rainbo Baking Company in Harlingen, Texas, as a route salesman, quickly advancing into sales management. Here, he met his life-long friend, Gary Lookingbill. The two Garys attended college at the University of Texas – Pan American and earned degrees in accounting. After graduating in 1973, Gary began a long and distinguished career as an auditor and investigator with the Federal government. Gary worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, the Interstate Commerce Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the Federal Inspector for the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Among his many assignments, he participated in investigations and audits of the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, oil and gas pipelines in the lower 48, surface transportation, and allegations of discrimination at the Department of Agriculture’s National Finance Center in Louisiana and in farm loan programs. He was a senior official in the agency that led Federal activities to construct a pipeline to bring natural gas from Alaska to the lower 48.
Gary retired in 2000 and started up a small business with Geeks on Call franchises in the Washington, D.C., and Houston, Texas areas. Gary and his wife Pam worked and lived in Washington, D.C. from 1981 to 2014. In 2015, when Pam retired, they moved to Gettysburg to care for Pam’s parents, Norma and Theodore Haze.
Gary is survived by his wife, Pamela Karen Haze, and his wonderful children Beverly and Leon Levandowski of Houston, Texas; Rebecca Jo Harvey of Fairfield, Pennsylvania; Gary Beau and Elizabeth Barber of Spring Branch, Texas; and grandchildren Jessica Taliaferro, James Hanley, Jacquelyn Hanley, Alexandria Allbrook, Brittany Puente, Bobbie Barber, and Gary Buren Barber, II. He was predeceased by his parents and sisters Rose Elizabeth and Jewel Lynn, his first wife Barbara Shawn Barber, and their first son Gary Junior “Son”.
Gary was a natural athlete, excelling at tennis in high school, amateur baseball in Japan, racquetball and handball, and fishing for bluefish and striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay. His happiest times were spent in a beach house he shared with good friend John Byrne, watching his football team – the Dallas Cowboys, on his chromed-out Harley-Davidson Softail, riding cross country with good friends Gary Lookingbill and Edward Steinour, and walking cairn terriers General Chesty Puller and Cricket. Gary was a prankster and loved practical jokes. His easy acceptance of people and life’s challenges left lasting impressions on the people he met and touched. He is loved and missed and will be honored with burial at Arlington National Cemetery at a time to be determined. The Monahan Funeral Home is assisting the family with funeral arrangements and online condolences may be made at https://www.monahanfuneralhome.com.