A longtime Islamorada resident who recently turned 101, retired U.S. Navy Capt. Richard “Dick” Barnes attributes his longevity to healthy eating, staying busy and martinis.
He has survived two recent bouts of pneumonia. Good genes likely play a role; his mother lived to 98 years old.
“He never sat behind a computer. He was always on his feet doing things,” said son David Barnes, who lives in New Hampshire.
Dick Barnes’ father was a mechanical engineer for the Milwaukee railroad, said David, and the family saw the trains go from steam-powered to electrification in the 1930s and 1940s.
“His dad was very handy. He grew up in the Great Depression when you didn’t throw things away. You fixed them,” David said.
Leaving the Midwest, Barnes later grew up in the Pacific Northwest.
According to prior published reports, soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor, 18-year-old Dick Barnes, who was an electrical engineering student, applied to the U.S. Navy Aviator Program in 1942. He then became a torpedo bomber pilot during World War II, an officer-in-charge test pilot during the Korean War and concluded his career as the commanding officer of the Naval Air Reserve at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.
Barnes also enjoyed tinkering with broken objects like watches and flight instruments, as well as salvaging fighter planes and then flying them. His handiness enabled him to buy surplus airplanes after World War II, which he converted into crop dusters in Washington state. His younger brother joined him in this crop dusting endeavor, said David Barnes. The business enabled the pair to do airplane maneuvers at low altitude and at high rates of speed for thrill purposes, which Barnes enjoyed immensely.
A year ago, Monroe County Commission and Veterans Affairs Director Cathy Crane presented 100-year-old Barnes with a mayor’s proclamation at his May 10 birthday celebration with his family.
“Monroe County wishes to honor Captain Barnes on his 100th birthday with deepest gratitude for his service to our country and our Monroe County community,” Mayor Holly Raschein said. “He truly defines why his era will always be known as the Greatest Generation.”
After his return from the war, Barnes served actively in the Naval Reserve for almost 40 years.
Barnes met his wife, Barbara Jean Rickets, in Burbank, California, while visiting cousins and still in the Navy Reserves.
“After World War II, his ship pulled into San Diego,” said David. “He was staying with friends who introduced him to his future wife. When family approval of their union was slow in coming, they eloped in Las Vegas.”
Barnes and his family moved to Plantation Key in August 1960, two weeks before Hurricane Donna hit. He owned Venetian Shores Fishing Center for 27 years and lived in an apartment in the back of the shop. He was a member of the Florida Keys Electric Cooperative Board of Directors and the Upper Keys Rotary Club, and was a founder and former commodore of the Upper Keys Sailing Club. David Barnes said his father had plans to expand the Venetian Shores marina and add a hotel, but the U.S. Coast Guard took over the property by eminent domain.
As an active diver, Barnes raised and displayed several treasures, including a 3-ton, 22-foot-tall anchor from the El Leary wreck of the Spanish galleons.
“He has lived a life characterized by devotion to his family, friends, hard work, honesty, humility, sacrifice and honor, influencing countless people through his service to his community and country,” said Crane a year ago.
Now, due to waning eyesight and hearing, Barnes lives in an assisted living facility in Homestead. However, his legacy and children live on.
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