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Community
Funeral services set for Queen Creek Mayor Gail Barney
Barney died on June 22
Posted
FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES REMEMBER GAIL BARNEY
Mark Schnepf, owner Schnepf Farms, former Queen Creek Mayor:
"Gail was a lifelong friend. He grew up in Queen Creek when there was little here. He served on the council for years and was a strong and steady mayor when Queen Creek was exploding with growth," Schnepf said. "He presided over some diverse and sometime contentious councils and issues. He did that with fairness and consistency.
"Many of us love the entire Barney family. Queen Creek will miss his leadership and kindness. I will miss his friendship and humor."
Jeff Brown, vice mayor of Queen Creek:
I am truly devastated by this loss not just for me personally but for the entire community of Queen Creek.
Mayor Barney was certainly one of our earliest residents and I was lucky enough to call him a friend. He was the "go-to-guy" for any bit of information that I was interested to find out with respect to the town's history.
"He shared generously his historical perspective on all things Town related and I will sorely miss that.
"My prayers and positive thoughts of support are with his wife Pam and the Barney family that they will be lifted by our community and find solace in a life well-lived along with a lifetime of fond memories of Gail."
Funeral services for Queen Creek Mayor Gail Barney are scheduled for next week.
Barney died Wednesday, June 22, at the age of 74 after battling a lung infection for several months.
Viewing and funeral services for Barney will be held at the LDS Stake Center, 22035 E. Ocotillo Road. The viewing takes place Friday, July 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held Saturday, July 9, starting at 10 a.m.
The viewing and funeral will be open to the public, said Constance Halonen-Wilson, communications and marketing manager for the town.
"The family is also working to set up a virtual option," Halonen-Wilson added.
Barney was ending his tenure as mayor as he did not choose to run for another term.
Barney was nearly a life-long resident of Queen Creek, moving from Safford when he was just six months old in 1948.
“He grew up on his family farm and continued to farm in Queen Creek for many years, which is how he got involved in local government,” according to the release. “Mayor Barney often shared he was having trouble crossing Germann Road on his tractor, so he got involved and never looked back. He served on the Queen Creek Planning & Zoning Commission from 1998 to 2002, when he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the town council. He served as a council member until the was elected Mayor in 2010.”
Barney spent 20 years on the town council where he played a significant role in the development of the town.
“From opening Ellsworth Loop, to starting a fire department and providing municipal water services, Mayor Barney assisted the council with strategic decisions that helped propel the community forward,” the release stated. “Under his leadership as mayor, the town continued to make strategic advancements becoming the first municipality with a full funded pension system, and recently the launch of the Queen Creek Police Department.”
Barney firmly believed that it was the residents who made Queen Creek so special, and he was known for taking time to get to know residents.
“He shared [that] his greatest influences were his parents, local school leaders and the founding families who helped shape the community that was so near to his heart," the release stated. “Mayor Barney embodied what it meant to be QC neighborly -- while his years of leadership and dedication will leave a legacy in the Queen Creek community -- he will be sincerely missed.”
Barney is survived by his wife, Pam, three children, 16 grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
Under the town code and policies and procedures, Vice Mayor Jeff Brown will continue to perform the duties as mayor.
Current Council Member Julia Wheatley is running unopposed for mayor.
Janet Perez News Editor | Florence &
Queen Creek @AzNewsmedia