Joseph Barkley, age 97 of Paris, IL passed away at 4:05 a.m., Monday, May 8, 2017 in Paris Healthcare Center. Services are 4 p.m., Thursday, May 11, 2017 at Stewart and Carroll Funeral Home. Visitation is Thursday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the funeral home. Military honors will be by American Legion Post 211 and V.F.W. 3601.

Private burial will be in Edgar Cemetery.

He graduated from Paris High School in 1936, was a member of the First Christian Church Disciples of Christ, and the Montana Historical Society. He was district supervisor in the soil and water conservation service for the State of Illinois and the U.S. Government. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and served from February 4, 1942 to October 23, 1945 in W.W. 2. He returned to Edgar County after the war and briefly resumed farming. He used the GI Bill to attend the University of Illinois earning an agriculture degree. He was an avid reader of history especially the American west.

Joe was born October 17, 1919 in Paris the son of the late George "Frank" and Maude Callaway Barkley. He married Frances H. Honeywell Barkley in October of 1946 and she passed away April 30, 1983.

He is survived by his son: Dan Barkley of Paris; his niece Linda (Tohill) Stidam and her husband Ollie of Tucson, AZ, nephew Robert Tohill and his wife Liza of Cebu, Philippines; great-nieces Christina Stidam and Elizabeth Stidam both of Tucson, Arizona; Amanda (Tohill) Cockrell of Terre Haute, IN. great-nephews Jesse Tohill and Glen Tohill both of Terre Haute, IN.

He was preceded in death by his son John Barkley.

For more information and online condolences please go to www.stewartandcarrollfuneralhome.com