Don Barnett

Donald C. Barnett passed away peacefully in Edmond, Oklahoma on June 16, 2021 - exactly 91 years after his birth in San Fernando, California to Charles and Elizabeth (Wilhour) Barnett.

When Don was three years old his family moved to a farm near Muleshoe, Texas. He and his younger siblings, Richard, Barbara (Puckett) and Diana (Stewart), all attended Muleshoe schools.

Don helped out on the family farm while growing up. He loved hunting, fishing and various sports, including football and boxing; he was a middleweight Golden Gloves champion for the Lubbock district in 1947. After graduation he attended Abilene Christian College for two years, where he met Joy McKnight from Hale Center, Texas. They married in 1949.

After two successful years growing cotton near Hale Center, Texas, the couple used their savings to buy a dairy farm in the Missouri Ozarks near Mt. Grove and Cabool. Don began a series of sales jobs, selling encyclopedias, insurance, bibles and cars - often at the same time. He decided to enroll in college courses again, and over time he became a certified Chamber of Commerce Manager.

The family, which now included four children, moved to Neosho, Missouri when Don was offered the position of chamber manager there. Only six months later, Joy died of a brain aneurysm. With the support of relatives, friends and the community, the family worked to recover from this blow.

In 1962 Don married Carolyn Sweet of Neosho, who instantly became a wife and a mother to four kids. The family moved to Hanford in 1966, where Don became the first executive director of the newly created Kings County Economic Development Commission. He helped create many jobs by guiding the development of industrial parks within Kings County, then recruiting businesses to move their manufacturing to Hanford, Lemoore, Corcoran and Avenal. He was also instrumental in helping existing businesses expand. Before he retired he helped establish the non-profit Crown Development Corporation to continue the focus on industrial growth in the county. This work is now being conducted by the Kings County Economic Development Corporation (Kings EDC).


After retiring from Kings County, Don became a real estate broker, focusing on industrial and commercial properties.

Don was first a deacon and then an elder in the Hanford Church of Christ, and was known as someone who went above and beyond to help those in need. He was a dedicated family man who encouraged his kids to do the best they could at whatever they chose to pursue in life. Don helped launch Valley Christian Home and Western Christian School to help both the elderly and the young.

He became interested in the missionary work the Church of Christ was conducting in Ghana, West Africa. He and Carolyn traveled to Ghana to see the need first-hand, and subsequently funded several dormitory-style houses for orphans at the Village of Hope. He also supported Ghana West Africa Missions in drilling much-needed water wells.

In July 2004, Carolyn succumbed to cancer. A year later Don married Marita McKnight Wood, sister of his first wife, Joy. “Rete” and her husband, Joe, had remained close to Don, Carolyn and the kids throughout the years, until Joe's death in 2003. Don and Rete soon moved to Edmond, Oklahoma where both had children living nearby. They enjoyed 16 happy years traveling, spending time with friends and family, and quiet times together before his passing.

In addition to his wife, Marita, Don is survived by one sister, Diana Stewart of Canyon Lake, TX; his children and their spouses, Jerry and Hilda Barnett of Tigard, OR, Clay and Toni Barnett of San Miguel, CA, Jeannine and Dean Rucker of Lubbock, TX and David and Teri Barnett of Edmond, OK; 10 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; his foster son, Victor Cleveland and his family; and several nieces and nephews and their progeny. His ashes will be interred at a family plot in Neosho, Missouri in August.

Those who wish to honor Don's memory are invited to help his family drill a water well in his honor in Ghana, West Africa. More information and a link to donate can be found at www.gwam.org/don-barnett-legacy-well-fundraiser.