Barry James Hill

Barry James Hill, 71, of Idaho Falls, passed away September 5th, 2023 at his home surrounded by family after a short battle with cancer. He was under the care of Solace Hospice.

Barry was born September 25, 1951 to proud parents George and Bonnie Hill in Sioux City, Iowa. He was one of six children, 4 brothers and one sister. His parents soon divorced leaving Bonnie to raise her children alone.

Barry was a very talented and hard working man. From the time he was 8 years old, he would find side jobs to help support his family. When he was 12 years old his mom decided to move the family to Burley, ID.

Barry had many skills, one of which was being a very talented mechanic. He could fix any car, truck, tractor or just about anything with an engine. He restored classic cars, inside and out. He could build absolutely anything, fix anything and solve about every problem laid before him. He was also an amazing artist and could sketch detailed pictures of people, automobiles, landscapes and sailboats. He could sing as well, and graced his family with fun trucking songs as well as good old western music.

Mechanics soon started becoming more computerized and Barry was no longer interested in the trade so he went back to long haul truck driving where he received many awards. He was awarded the 3 million mile award as well as placing first in the national truck driving championship competition. He was very proud of this achievement.

On January 31, 1974 Barry met Marla Marie Steube and 5 short days later they were married. Marla had 2 children, Sherry Jean and Lori Suzanne from a previous marriage. One year after their marriage, the youngest daughter Kitt Marie was born.

Barry did not hesitate to make the decision to adopt Sherry and Lori since their dad was not in the picture. On May 5th, 1978 the family was united. Barry raised all of his children equally, full hearted and with the most love any father had to give. He worked endlessly to provide the best life possible for his family.

On January 15th, 2016, heartbreak struck the family when cancer took Marla from them. Barry mourned this loss greatly, as did the rest of the family. One year later an angel entered Barrys life and brought love back into his heart. This angels name was Carolyn Goodwin. Carolyn brought with her two children, Melanie Nicole and Angela Denise. The family quickly fell in love with them all. On June 23rd, 2018, Barry and Carolyn were married forming a bigger, stronger family.

Barry and Carolyn were able to retire and live a life they loved spending summers at their favorite location at 7N Ranch in Ririe, ID and winters in Beaver Dam, AZ. They had many friends and family at both locations and were able to go on many adventures together. Barry always wanted to take a cruise and go to Hawaii and luckily, they were able to do both at once. Being a long haul truck driver, Hawaii was the only state he had not visited. He was very excited and felt very blessed to be able to do this with his beautiful wife, family and friends.

Barry is proceeded in death by his late wife Marla Hill, father George Hill, mother Bonnie Lee and brother Larry Hill. He is survived by his loving wife Carolyn Hill, children Sherry Young, Lori (Frank) Harris, Kitt (Charlie) Anderson, Melanie (Taber) Jacobs, Angela (Cory) Choate, brothers Jerry Hill, Dennis Hill, Roy Hill and Elaine Thompson as well as numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life will be held at his daughter’s home at 1381 Cedar Lake Lane in Ashton, ID on September 16th from 2 to 6pm.