George A. Barnes, adoringly called “Papa”, 81, of Kansas City, Missouri passed away peacefully in the early morning of July 13, 2021. George fought Parkinson’s Disease with all he had, but succumbed to the disease after over a 10-year battle.

George was born June 29, 1940, in Abilene, Kansas to Jake William Barnes and Verna May (Bullington) Barnes. His mother passed away when he was five years old, and George and Jake moved to Kansas City, Missouri where several aunts and uncles helped care for George until Jake remarried December 21, 1947. Helen Ruth (Matthews) Barnes raised George as her own, and the family was soon expanded with John (1949) and Merilee (1950).

As a young man, George loved basketball and the Boy Scouts. He became an Eagle Scout, one of the youngest at that time, and was in the Tribe of Mic-O-Say. He loved going to Osceola, Mo. Scout Camp. John remembers George suffering with poison ivy every summer, and it seemed that he was always covered with Calamine Lotion. One of the scout leaders for troop 73 used his vacation every year to take scouts camping/canoeing on the Canadian/Minnesota border, and George wouldn’t have missed those trips for anything.

George graduated from Southeast High School in 1958. He excelled in anything to do with math, drafting and shop classes. His drafting teacher told his folks that George was the most talented drafting student he ever had. His high school graduation present from his parents was a 1931 Model “A” Ford.

George started driving a truck for Faeth Hardware in downtown Kansas City, and enrolled in night classes at Body & Fender School so that he could learn how to restore the Model “A” Ford himself. At the same time, he and his friend and neighbor, Larry Ryan, rented a dirt floor single car garage, and started building a hot rod. The result was a 1923 Ford Model T roadster, now commonly known as a “T-Bucket”. With a souped up 1952 Oldsmobile engine and painted “Candy Titian Red”, this teenager-built hot rod was displayed at Ray Farhner’s Custom Car Show at the Municipal Auditorium. This car was featured in the November, 1961 issue of Rod & Custom Magazine. Larry and George went on to build several B/Gas drag cars, including a 1941 Willys Coupe and a 1948 Anglia, both Cadillac powered.

He went on to work at ITCO, Inc., a farm & home supply, where he became Vice-President. The best part of his time at ITCO was meeting his future wife, Betty, who was an accountant for the company. They were married on December 13, 1975, and were blessed with twins, Geoffrey Allan, and Stacey Marie, in 1978.

In 1975, George rented a building in NKC, Mo., and became an entrepreneur and was the sole owner/operator of Tubular Dynamics. He turned his hobby of building hot rods and race cars into a business that he owned for over forty years. George was a self-taught welder, fabricator and inventor. He was at his best, designing and building complex items out of metal. He delighted in figuring out how to accomplish what his customer wanted for all kinds of hot rods, custom cars, dragsters, motorcycles, and he even designed and made parts for a helicopter builder. George would welcome any and all challenges and was truly a man that “could do it all”.

In 2008, George became a Grandpa and took on the role of “Papa”. His grandchildren were a delight to him, and were a special blessing to George, especially, as his health started to fail. Additionally, George was voted “Member of the Year” by the Cowtown Ts in 2008. This was an honor that George held dear to his heart as he was celebrated by longtime friends.

George was an avid Jayhawks fan, and planned his days around KU basketball games. He was also a Nascar fan, and spent his Sundays in his favorite chair watching races. His favorite outfit usually included a KU or Nascar T-shirt.

George was preceded in death by his father, mother, step-mother and many aunts and uncles. George is survived by his loving wife, Betty (Suttles) Barnes, son Geoffrey “Geoff” Barnes, daughter Stacey (Tom) Kochis, brother, John (Cheryl) Barnes, sister Merilee (Jim) Thoenen, four grandchildren, Cameron, Kylie, Chloe and Lakin Kochis, many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews.

A Celebration of Life will be held from 1-4 pm on Saturday, July 31, 2021 at:

Grace Church-Independence Campus

3601 S Sterling

Independence MO 64052

A light luncheon will be provided by the family.

Since George was an avid lover of cars of all kinds, we encourage you to drive your hot rod to the celebration.