Barry Joe Savage passed away on December 21, 2021 at the age of 80 at Seaview Wellness and Rehabilitation Center in Eureka of various medical conditions. 

Barry was the oldest of seven, born in 1941 in Clay Center, Kansas. His parents were Enid and James Savage. As a child he moved out to Northern California with his family. As a teenager, he developed an interest in music and learned to play guitar. He also became interested in radios and electronics. In his early twenties, he played in many local rock bands in the area around Eureka and often played with his brother Steve. His other many jobs included: delivery truck driver, hospital worker, and working in sawmills He later joined the National Guard reserves as a radio operator.

His intense curiosity and passion for learning lead him to pursue a degree in sociology at Humboldt State University. There, he soaked in all the knowledge he could, aside from his major. Some his other interests were biology, linguistics, painting and even flower arranging. It was there that he met his first wife, Janet Rider, whom he married in 1965. The next year, his son, Barry Jr. was born. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees, he also got certification to teach at both high school and at the university level. In 1974, he moved to the Portland Oregon metro area where he worked at Portland State University in the administration as a researcher, Information Systems coordinator and Data Base Manager. By the early and mid-‘80s he was working at the University of Oregon as an Associate Professor, Assistant Registrar and Information Systems Coordinator. 

In 1985 he moved back to Eureka and eventually went to work at the College of the Redwoods as the Director for Institutional Research. In the early 2000s, Barry started working at the Humboldt Senior Resource Center teaching seniors how to use computers and the internet, which he enjoyed immensely. It was there that he met Perry Mauer, the woman with whom he would form a close romantic relationship and later marry. Soon they made home for themselves in a small victorian house in Eureka. It was there that they enjoyed cooking, gardening and improving their home. In 2016 Perry passed away, after many happy years with Barry.  

To all who knew him, he was an extremely intelligent, and curious person who enjoyed life. He had too many interests to include here, but among them were music, woodworking, art, science, literature, computer coding, electronics, cooking, philosophy, statistics and sociology. His excitement and passion for learning inspired all who knew him. Beyond that, his warmth, compassion and sense of humor made him fun to be around for everyone he met. He enjoyed learning, teaching and sharing information and his enthusiasm was infectious. Many of those he taught formally or informally later used what they had learned from him as the basis for their own careers or interests. Often he would get out his yellow notepad and diagram or sketch out ideas to help illustrate abstract concepts.  

He is survived by his son, Barry Jr, his brother, Steve and his sisters, Janna and Paula Sue and his two grandchildren Joseph and Sarah. 

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