Dr Neil Carlisle Barber, 1934–2018

Issue: BCMJ, vol. 61, No. 1, January February 2019, Page 35 Obituaries
By: Theresa Metzger, BSc

Dr Neil Carlisle Barber

Dr Neil Carlisle Barber, 84, of Creston, BC, passed away peacefully, embraced by his family, on 2 November 2018. Born in Manchester, England, Neil attended Cambridge University and qualified as a medical doctor in 1959. He and his young family then spent 3 years in northern Kenya, where he served diligently as the only doctor for a remote area. After also working as a doctor in Swansea, Wales, for 2 years, Neil and his family immigrated to Quesnel, BC, in 1965. Neil embraced the Cariboo and it embraced him. He devoted the remainder of his medical career to this region, specializing as an internist and becoming a founding member of the International College of Hospice/Palliative Care in 1995, where he was instrumental in bringing a multibed hospice unit to Quesnel. He is fondly remembered by patients and medical staff alike as a gentle, intelligent, devoted doctor who treated everyone with compassion, grace, and strength. Neil retired in 2002, and in 2008 he and his wife, Eva, moved to Creston, BC, where he continued his commitment to palliative care by serving on the local Hospice Society Board and successfully bringing two hospice rooms to the Creston Valley Hospital. 

Neil is survived by his daughter, Theresa (David) Metzger, and his sons, Marcus (Janice) Barber and James (Ila) Barber. He is also survived by his sisters, Julie (Richard) Williams and Linda Allatini (Anthony) Wilson and his grandsons, Wes (Alaina), Daniel, Michael, William, and Jon. Neil joins his beloved wife of 60 years, Eva, who passed away in 2017.

A special thank you to the nurses and doctors at the Creston Valley Hospital, and to Father Sylvester Obi Ibekwe of the Holy Cross Catholic Church, for their loving care and support during Neil’s final days. Funeral services were held at the Holy Cross Catholic Church in Creston on 23 November (www.gfoliverfuneralchapel.com/notices/Neil-Barber). Neil was laid to rest beside Eva at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Creston, BC. Memorial donations may be made to the Eva and Neil Barber Memorial Fund at the Creston-Kootenay Foundation, Box 701, Creston, BC, V0B 1G0 (proceeds to benefit the Creston Valley Hospital palliative care rooms) or to the Holy Cross Catholic Church at Box 299, Creston, BC, V0B 1G0.
—Theresa Metzger, BSc
Camano Island, WA

Theresa Metzger, BSc. Dr Neil Carlisle Barber, 1934–2018. BCMJ, Vol. 61, No. 1, January, February, 2019, Page(s) 35 - Obituaries.


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