John Joseph Barry Jr.

John Joseph Barry Jr. passed away April 10, 2025, 4 days shy of his 80th birthday.

John was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to John J. Barry Sr. and Agnes L. Barry. Although he moved to New Jersey when he was 9 years old, Philly was always his home.

John always told stories about how he joined the Navy, something about an either/or situation with a judge. Regardless, he joined the Navy and made a career out of it for 20+ years. During that time, he served on eight different submarines, both diesel- and nuclear-powered, as well as three different training units. His travels took him all over the world, although most of it was underneath the water. He ended his Navy career at his final duty station in Idaho. After the Navy, he had a second career at the Naval Reactor Facility in the middle of the Idaho desert, training young sailors early on and helping in decommissioning the facility until his second retirement.

During his early Navy life, he met a young lady named Ida Mae Boyce at a horse stable while stationed in New York. Shortly thereafter, John and Ida were married. The following year, their first son, John III (Jack), was born, and five years later, their second son, Thomas (Tom), was born. John instilled in the boys how to work hard and be men of character. John was always very proud of his boys and would often brag about them to anyone who would listen.

John and Ida raised many, many animals in those 46 years. John spent much of his time in Idaho supporting Ida and her love of all things animals. Together, they bred, trained, and showed nationally ranked Appaloosa and Quarter horses as well as Poodles and Shelties.

John was a great mechanic and loved to always be tinkering, he never could leave anything alone, often asking his neighbor (Tom) for just one more five minutes of help for something he was working on that often took much longer than originally planned.

After Ida’s passing in 2013, a former classmate sent John a letter of condolence, Jane was the only classmate who sent anything. The next year, John traveled Eastbound and also found time to meet up with Jane for lunch, and that’s where their relationship started. John and Jane were married in 2015. During their time together, they finished off seeing ALL of the National Parks in the continental United States. They also spent time on the RZR as well as snowmobiling. For the last several years, they would winter in Bullhead City, Arizona. There, they found some great friends that John would often talk about.

John leaves behind his wife, Jane; his sons: Jack (Alison) and Tom (Tami); his favorite (and only) granddaughter, Alexis Anne; grandsons: Sam, Colby, and Jim. John loved his grandkids so much that, if possible, I’m pretty sure he would have skipped Jack and Tom and went straight to the grandkids. He also leaves behind his siblings: Ginny, Rick, Bill, and Chris.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Ida; parents John Sr. and Agnes; sisters, Marilou; sisters-in-laws, Rose and Susan; and his best travel and camping companion, Lucy the Lab.

In lieu of services, if you would like to honor John and his family, we ask that you consider going camping, attending a car show, visiting Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, or any other national park, or exploring Oatman, Arizona. Maybe most importantly, have an authentic Philly Cheesesteak, but it can only have an authentic Amorosa Roll to count according to him.

Dad, you will be forever missed. May you have fair winds and following seas until we meet again.

Cremation is under the direction of Coltrin Mortuary, 2100 First Street, Idaho Falls. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.coltrinmortuary.com.