Barry T. Wells was born on August 2, 1955 to James and Mae Wells in Harlem, NY. Although he was born and raise in NY, he spent a large portion of his youth in Pittsburgh where both of his parent was born and raised. Barry is a United States Navy veteran, having served his country from 1974 to 1977. He then landed a career as a copier technician at Kodak where he worked for over 20 years. Before transferring to Danka (when they bought out Kodak). He eventually landed his current position as a technician for Lexmark, a contractor for the United States Department of Transportation in DC, after relocating to VA in 2001.
Barry was also a musician, playing the bass in churches and several bands, the last of which was Smoketown Road in Northern VA. Playing was his love; it was a skill he picked up in the Navy and honed over the years. Barry was a Godly man and was strong in his faith. He read his Scripture and tried to live his life in a way that was pleasing to God. Anyone who knew Barry, called Toney by his family, knew that he was championed the causes of the voiceless and fought for racial and gender equality.
He loved people (except for really slow drivers and mean spirited and/ or racist folks) and stood on those social platforms as much as often as he could. His sense of what was right and honorable was strong and he lived by it.
He also had a deep love and appreciation for history and was particularly fascinated with WWI, WWII, and most notably, the Tuskegee Airmen. One of his favorite hobbies was flight simulations, where he and a group of other fellow enthusiasts went on flying missions…. On their computer, headsets, foot pedals, and all!!
Barry is survived by his beloved Wife, Allyson Wells; his loving parents, Jake and Mae Wells; his beautiful sisters, Robin Ward, Kimberley Skinner and Tracey Campfield, and their respective spouses and children; his children, who he held dear to his heart, Kevyn Knotts, Kahara Mercer, Jolivette Knotts -Hudson, Jillian Knotts, Leah Bennett, Shelly Dalton, and Emmanuel Knotts, and their respective spouses and children; and his step-children, who he loved like his own, Anthony Brown, Chris March, Yvonne White, Eddie March, Robbie Lee, Krystal Porter, Lloyd (Biscuit) Lee, and Tecla Lee, and their respective spouses and children. Barry’s grandchildren, from all of the kids, totals 19.
Barry is a current member of Living Waters Ministries in Virginia Beach. He will be dearly missed by all!
Condolences(16)-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Previous Senora Mae Knockum
Next Letrelle A. Rainey
Personal Service, Peace of Mind, Pleasant Memories
© Metropolitan Funeral Service
Joyce Vincent-Knotts says
August 26, 2020 at 11:09 amI’m going to miss you, Old Man! I know I’ll see you on the other side! Love you, always – Joyce
Vada M. Cuffee says
August 28, 2020 at 7:40 amAllyson you and your family have my deepest sympathy during the loss of Barry. I pray that God gives you comfort and peace. I know how much you loved him and he sure did love you back. His memory will forever be enshrined in your heart. Praying for you and your family. If you need anything, just let me know. Love, Peace, and Blessings to you and your family.
Vada M. Cuffee
Dawn says
August 28, 2020 at 12:29 pmWe are stricken with grief and we’re sorry that we could not be with you today. We hold the promises of the word that says – Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted. May you find comfort and strength during this indescribable moment of loss. We love you and we’re praying for you all.
Love – Dawn, Albert, Aimée, Dorothy, Allyyssa
Lorenzo Grandison says
August 28, 2020 at 12:55 pmAllyson may God grant you and family grace,mercy, comfort you and give you peace of mind during this time.
Tara Y Davis says
August 28, 2020 at 3:15 pmTo Barry’s family, I am so very sorry for your loss. Frank and I are praying for you all daily. Barry was a good guy, and he was like a big brother to me. I am grateful for the wisdom that he spoke into my life when I was going through some rough times. I’m also grateful to have had the opportunity to worship God with him in the band at church and to experience his enthusiasm for music when he played with Smoketown Road. Barry was truly a wonderful person, full of wisdom, and he was a blessing in my life. I’m so glad he found true joy with Allyson, and I know he cherished that time he had with her. It was written all over his demeanor. I’ll miss him.
Re’na Mirand says
August 28, 2020 at 4:38 pmI am in constant prayer for my Dear friend and Sister Allyson and Barry’s Famiy. I am so saddened by this. My sincere Condolences.
Truly Black Love at it’s Finest was Barry & Allyson. I was so happy they found true love. Allyson he will always remain in your heart, I love you.
Roderick DeBrew says
August 28, 2020 at 4:42 pmI am going to miss my brother in Christ. You were in your new chapter with Allyson and you expressed how happy you were. Absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. I still have our conversations and memories.
Keshera Wright says
August 28, 2020 at 5:18 pmAllyson may God grant you and family grace,mercy, comfort you and give you peace of mind during this time.
Hannah Emerson says
September 4, 2020 at 10:07 amI didn’t know Barry, but as a fellow Lexmark employee (in Kentucky), please accept my condolences and prayers as you grieve. Reading through his obituary, it seems he was a wonderful man. I’m sure he will be missed by many.
Rodney Hicks says
December 18, 2020 at 6:25 pmI am just finding out about this and I am devastated. To all of his family and friends I mourn with you. We have been friends for over 40 years and he has always been an inspiration to me. I miss playing music with him, our talks and his smile. He was truly happy with you Allyson. I am so glad that he finally found what he was looking for. Sleep on Toney enjoy your rest, we all love you, but God loves you best.
Daniel Jama says
November 8, 2021 at 1:17 pmBarry may not have realised it but he was a really positive influence on my life many years ago with his level head and sound principles. We met online via flight sims and I was living through some turbulent times. Sadly I had not spoken to him for a long while as life developed and took me in other directions, but I would like to extend my full respect and condolences to his family, albeit only now as I have sadly just found out about his passing.
Airmail (Tom W) says
March 6, 2022 at 3:58 amBarry will be missed by me for similar reasons, he was a large presence within the flight sim community and a kind soul.
Wishing Barry clear skies and tailwinds.
Edward says
November 9, 2021 at 11:42 pmBarry also known as Bearcat in the flight simming community, was a great guy to have discussions about history, aviation, and flight simming. The community misses him.
paul.tischler says
November 20, 2021 at 2:36 amBarry also known as Bearcat in the flight simming community, was a great guy to have discussions about history, aviation, and flight simming. The community misses him,
everywhere even here in Australia.
and even though I am on the other side of our planet I’ve felt a brotherly bond with similar people with a liked passion that
many of our same age grouping has too.I knew when
he posted it would be an informative and interesting read.
So Fly In the skies of Heaven Barry. I feel that I will see you soon an my health deteriorates and Ive wondered if our passing is noticed in the virtual world be all seem to be living in now
John Bedell says
November 11, 2022 at 9:05 pmI was saddened to hear of Barry’s passing, but would like to provide a link to a thread – https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/75170-barry-aka-bearcat-has-passed-away/ – where many expressed their sadness and reminisced about Barry. To make such an impression on so many is a reflection of the character of this fine man.
Bradley Fink says
February 1, 2023 at 2:07 pmI was gutted when I heard about his passing, more than 2 years later! I realized that I hadn’t called Barry in a while as he’d been on my mind this week. I finally took the time to call him up and I got a Verizon message that his number was not currently active. Not sure what was going on, I headed over to his Facebook page to leave him a message. That’s when I realized what happened. I had no idea that so much time had passed since we’d last spoken and I feel horribly about that. I had a lot of respect for him. We got together a few times over the years and even had him join me for a B17 flight a number of years ago.
P 757.628.1000 • F 757.545.9148