Richard Stephen Barth, 79

Richard Stephen Barth, 79, of Wallace, Idaho, passed away Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020, at Kootenai Health. Rick was born on July 24, 1941, in Manchester, Conn., the oldest of four children to the late Everett and Margaret Cubles Barth.

Rick grew up in Coventry, banging nails with his dad. He was an avid reader, stamp collector, hiker, camper, fisherman, Boy Scout and 4-H member and leader. He loved the outdoors, boats and visiting national parks.

He graduated from Manchester in 1959 and from the University of Connecticut with a B.S. degree in forestry. He married Barbara Farrell and moved to Granville, Idaho, after working there in summer jobs of planting trees, fighting fires, thinning, repairing the old “ground return” phone lines and taking weather measurements for five summers. They were blessed with two children, Randy and Julie. They later divorced.

Bonners Ferry was his first permanent job with the Forest Service in 1964. There he was in charge of the planting, thinning and dozer piling, as well as timber cruising and “other duties as assigned.” In Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in 1968, Rick was laying out timber sales. He rewrote the “Small Sales Contract” and earned a reward for it. While in Coeur d’Alene, Rick was led to a group of Catholic charismatic who led him to the Lord.

After locating to Wallace, Rick worked in Timber Sales and supervised the planting, thinning and other stand-tending jobs. He trained a couple of “hot shot” crews and took them to various fires. He ended up on the one of the five teams that managed forest fires when they grew too big for the locals to handle. Rick fought fires all over the Western U.S. and even Florida and Texas. After spending numerous years battling fires and working for the U.S. Forest Service, Rick retired in 1995. After his retirement, he was as a substitute teacher at Kellogg and Wallace high schools for 14 years and enjoyed swimming and all his friends at the Mullan pool.

Rick married Naomi Baraby on June 22, 1974, and together they had 46 wonderful years together spending much time camping and hiking in the national parks. He taught the adult Sunday School class at the Wallace Assembly of God for 40 years and was the Spokane District “Light for the Lost” chairman for 10 years. During the church’s transition in Wallace from Assembly of God to Church of God, Rick still faithfully taught Sunday School. His best friends, many being pastors, prayed and preached the Word.

He is survived by his son, Randy and his wife, Sobana and children Nathan, Mishal and Asha of Maritus; a daughter, Julie Horne and her children, Shannon and Cameron of Cape Cod, Mass.; a brother, Craig (Chris) of Florida; two sisters, Penny (Evans) and Debbi (Gene) of Connecticut; brothers-in-law Charles Baraby of Boise and Bruce (Debra) Baraby of Wallace; and several nephews and nieces.

An Irish Blessing: “May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

A memorial service will be announced at a later date and donations may be made in Rick’s loving memory to the Wallace Church of God, 60286 Silver Valley Road, Wallace, ID 83873.

Shoshone Funeral Services, Kellogg, is assisting the family with arrangements. Messages of condolence may be sent to the family online at www.shoshonefuneralservice.com.