Brody Barker

Brody Alan Barker, 18, of Columbia City, Indiana, passed away Wednesday, March 1, 2023 at Parkview Regional Medical Center. His body drew its final breath on Friday, March 3, 2023 and he gave gifts as a donor to help others continue on with their lives.

Born May 30, 2004 in Fort Wayne at Lutheran Hospital, Brody was the son of Lloyd Barker and Michelle Dailey. Growing up in Columbia City, he was gifted academically. He may have been known as a class clown, but Brody loved to make people smile and laugh. Even though Brody played football while attending Columbia City High School, academics came first and he was a math genius. He loved to learn and was involved in several academic clubs.  In his senior year, Brody and his girlfriend were voted Homecoming King and Queen. He also had been the recipient in 2022 for the Tyler Andreas Scholarship Fund Award in football.

After graduating with the Class of 2022, Brody was inspiring to be a mechanical engineer and was a Freshman at Purdue of Fort Wayne. He always had a need to know why,  and with a thirst for knowledge, he also enjoyed watching random YouTube videos on either documentaries or how to videos.  He also enjoyed thrifting and gaming.

Brody’s other love was for his family, spending time with his buddies, and spending time with his girlfriend. He was caring, compassionate, loving, and never failed to give a hug and say “I love you”. Brody was respectful and showed a lot of gratitude. Brody truly was an example of a great young man!

Brody is survived by his father, Lloyd Barker Jr.; mother, Michelle (Miranda Ditton) Dailey; grandparents, Terry and Tammy Dailey; sister, Lacey Barker; sister, Kelsey (Garrett) Adams; brother, Kyle Barker; girlfriend, Courtney Tobin; and several aunts, uncles, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by grandparents, Dave and Martha Kuehner.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Brody's memory to his family in care of DeMoney-Grimes Funeral Home for his family to set up an math scholarship in Brody’s memory and/or to the 88 Foundation that was created by his friends. Visit www.DeMoneyGrimes.com to send Brody’s family online condolences or sign the online guest book.

Everyone is welcome to join in a celebration of Brody's life lived that will be held at 12:30 pm Saturday, March 11, 2023 at First Church of God, 1200 W Depoy Dr, Columbia City. The doors of the church will open at 12 pm and following the service, the family will receive friends from 1:30 to 3:30 pm.