John Wayne Barber was born 1946 in Moline Illinois. He passed away August 22, 2026 at 80 years old. He was a long-time resident of Colona Illinois. He and his wife Niki moved to Cottonwood Arizona in 2024.

An honor service will be held at the Rock Island Arsenal, Bldg 118, Rodman Ave, Rock Island, IL 61299 on September 9, 2026 at 1pm. Please allow at least 30 minutes for security check before entry. Following the service, a celebration of life with pizza and stories will be held at Frank’s Pizza, 711 1st Ave, Silvis, IL 61282.

Wayne graduated from UTHS in 1965. He enlisted in the Navy, served from 1966 to 1970 on the USS Coral Sea off the coast of Viet Nam.

Wayne was proud of his profession as a truck driver. He started working at Service Transportation Lines, worked for various other carriers, and completed his career at Con-Way Central Express. He earned several million-mile safety awards throughout his career.

Wayne was a self-described gear head, loving all things automotive, and especially drag racing. He was on race teams at Cordova and other tracks in Illinois and Iowa. He was quite talented at fixing things, and was very meticulous in his work. He wanted to understand how things worked, and would spend hours figuring them out.

One of his favorite pastimes was to sit at the kitchen table and listen to family and friends telling stories.

Wayne leaves behind his loving wife, Niki; brothers Dennis Barber (Vangy), Paul Barber (Diane) and Jeff Smallwood; sister Linda Thomas; stepson Kyle Winchell and several nieces and nephews in Oregon, Iowa, California, Nebraska and Illinois.

Wayne was preceded in death by his parents John Barber, and Velma and Don Smallwood and his stepson Bob Hintze.