Maurice R. Barnes, Jr. passed away on October 24, 2014 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was 81. The cause of death was complications from pneumonia. Maury was born on September 30, 1933 in Washington D.C. to Maurice R. and Ellen Neilson Barnes. In his youth, Maury was an Eagle Scout and played on his high school basketball team. He attended the University of Utah where he was affiliated with Sigma Chi Fraternity. He graduated in Accounting as a cadet in the Navy ROTC. After college he was a Navy jet fighter pilot with Fighter Squadron 11 flying the F8 "Crusader" off the carrier USS Roosevelt. He had a strong testimony of his religion and elected to serve a mission at age 25 following his Navy fighter pilot years.
He served in the British Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during which time he was mission secretary to T. Bowring Woodbury, the British Mission President. Following his mission to England, he attended and graduated from the University of Utah Law School. After law school, he clerked for Federal Court Judge A. Sherman Christensen. Later, he served a number of years as an attorney in the Aviation Litigation Section of the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Maury was a member of both the Utah and Washington D.C. Bars.
At age 32, during his weekend Navy Reserve duty in Dallas, Texas, he was in the back seat of a taxi cab on his way from the Dallas airport to the Navy base when the cab was struck head-on by a drunk driver. This tragic accident killed everyone in both vehicles except Maury. He suffered a severe brain injury when he was ejected from the vehicle onto the highway. The head injury was so severe, that he was given less than a 20% chance to live. After weeks in a coma, he recovered, later married, and had a wonderful family. He is survived by Lilo Barnes and their five children, Romy Gisela Snyder (Paul A. Snyder), Christopher Maurice Barnes (Shirley C. Barnes), Heidi Marie Smith (Jared G. Smith), Lisa Ellen Davis (Wesley L. Davis), Katie Neilson Barnes, thirteen grandchildren and his siblings, Mary Ellen Barnes Caine (Thomas H. Caine), David Neilson Barnes (Cherie White Barnes), Carolyn Barnes Gardner (Kem Crosby Gardner).
The family expresses deep appreciation to the doctors, nurses, staff and all the care givers at the Salt Lake Veterans Home who gave such kind attention to Maury.
Funeral services will be held on Thursday October 30th at 11:00am in the Grandeur Peak Ward, 3640 E. Millstream Dr. (3510 S.), Salt Lake City. There will be a viewing at 9:30am prior to the service. Online condolences may be made at www.larkincares.com
