Barry Robert Dickens

Barry Dickens passed away December 25, 2018 following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 62.

Barry was born in Albuquerque. As his father was active duty Air Force, Barry dubbed himself a “military brat” and the family lived in a variety of places as he grew up, moving from Albuquerque to Germany, to Virginia, to Ohio, then returning to Albuquerque in 1972 when his dad retired. Barry met Susan at Del Norte High School, where they started dating in 1974. They married in 1977.

His love of God and his love of people led Barry to be called to the ministry. After he graduated with his Masters of Divinity from Asbury Seminary in 1983, he served multiple United Methodist Churches in the New Mexico Annual Conference – Cedar Crest, Santa Fe, Tucumcari, Carlsbad, & Los Alamos. Barry then served 6 years as the District Superintendent of the Clovis District, being the “pastor’s pastor” for 52 churches and their clergy. He took disability from the Conference in 2012 and moved back to Albuquerque with his wife.

Barry led a compassionate and passionate life. He reached out to everyone he met, including strangers, and strived to help others in any way that he could. He was always a kid at heart, never having truly grown up, and loved being involved in children & youth ministries. Barry conducted a backpacking ministry for the conference for 20+ years, touching the lives of many youth throughout New Mexico. During these backpacking trips, many young people discovered God for the first time. Barry’s passion for the mountains, hiking, and the outdoors went hand-in-glove with his love of photography. Barry loved to capture the beauty of God’s creation as well as friends and family living life to the fullest. He loved adventure, traveling to new countries and experiencing new cultures (though his severe lack of foreign language skills often made the trips interesting). Barry was also an accomplished woodworker and spent any free moments he had working on projects in his shop. He loved teaching – the research involved in preparing for the course, the opportunity to share his knowledge and enthusiasm for many topics, most of all biblical subjects, and the excitement on the participant’s faces as they enjoyed what he had to share. He loved to preach and he loved to tell stories.

Barry’s greatest passion was for his family. He is a treasured husband, father, son, and brother. Barry is preceded in death by his son, David, who died in 2003 in a hiking accident. He is also preceded by his parents, Pete and Mary Jane Dickens.

He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Susan; and his children, Kimberly (Matthew Casiano), Rachel, and Peter (Sara); and one granddaughter, Thea Dickens, 10 months. He is also survived by his sister, Gwen Zollars (Chuck) and his brothers, John (Jeanne Banks) and Owen (Jenny).

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, January 19, 2019 at 11:00 a.m., St. John’s United Methodist Church, 2626 Arizona St. NE. A reception will follow in the Family Life Center.

The family requests any gifts be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or to Sacramento Camp and Conference Center in Sacramento, NM.