Thomas Stephen Barnhart, 70, of Hanover, PA, entered God’s eternal care, Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Hanover. Born June 15, 1947 in Hanover, PA he was the son of the late Curvin W. “Barney” and Arlene M. (Markle) Barnhart. Mr. Barnhart was a 1965 graduate of Southwestern High School.
He was a laborer for National Can and Utz Quality Foods in Hanover, as well as H&S Baking Company in Baltimore. A disciplined walker, he often could be seen walking through Hanover and stopping at his favorite haunts, such as Merlin’s Coffee, the post office, Warehouse Gourmet, the Hotel Hanover, the Circle, and breweries. An avid Orioles and Steelers fan, Thomas enjoyed eating seafood, oysters, blue crabs, steaks, prime rib, Jewish delicacies, and soups.
Thomas also loved preparing and drinking gourmet coffee, traveling, and socializing. A collector, he loved acquiring first edition stamps, baseball cards, coins, and Lone Ranger cartoons and paraphernalia. A movie trivia buff, Thomas loved watching and discussing classic movies, especially black-and-white movies.
An old school letter writer, conversationalist, and story-teller, Thomas had a booming, contagious laugh that could be heard from outside windows and doors and across bars. He traveled to the 48 contiguous states in the U.S. as well as Jerusalem, China, Germany and Ireland. He was proud to have smuggled Holy Bibles into China during separate tours in the 1980s.
A keen observer of peoples’ tastes, Thomas was a meticulous gift giver and loved celebrating birthdays and holidays, and celebrations of birthdays and holidays often did not coincide with their actual dates. Thomas was a financial contributor to causes he felt strongly about – environmental preservation, wildlife protection, Native American causes, a strong Israel, and Second Amendment rights. He enjoyed learning history and discussing politics and could best described as a Reagan Republican and a Churchill conservative.
He loved being called “UT”, short for Uncle Tom, by his nephews. Thomas is survived by one daughter, Christina L. Wagner of Cannonsburg, PA, two grandchildren, Kyle A Wagner and Sheridan L. Wagner, one sister, Barbara S. Jackson and husband J. Donald, and three nephews, Mitchell A. Jackson and his wife Lisa of Middletown, DE, Matthew E. Jackson of Hanover, PA, Mark P. Jackson and wife Rebekah of Baltimore, MD, Following cremation, a memorial service to celebrate and remember Thomas’ life will be held 11:00 AM, Monday, June 18, 2018 at the Kenworthy Funeral Home, Inc., 269 Frederick Street, Hanover, PA with Pastor Chester Joines officiating. A visitation and time to share memories with the family will be held from 10:00-11:00 AM, Monday, June 18, 2018 at the funeral home.
Burial will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Hanover, PA. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Thomas’ memory to the Diabetes Foundation, 13 Sunflower Avenue, Paramus, NJ 07652 or for pancreatic cancer research to the Lustgarten Foundation, 415 Crossways Park Drive, Suite D, Woodbury, NY 11797. The Kenworthy Funeral Home, Inc., 269 Frederick Street, Hanover, PA is assisting the family with funeral arrangements.
Memories and condolences may be shared at www. kenworthyfh.com.
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