Theodore Edward Barner Jr., 82: Hospital administrator turned judge

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By Michelle E. Shaw

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Judge Theodore Barner found love late in life. Though his career as a lawyer and judge came after a stint in hospital administration, it was first in his heart.

HANDOUT Judge Theodore Barner.

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“He loved being on the bench and he loved being part of the legal process,” said Judith Stout-Barner, his wife of 24 years. “He said he loved it so much, he wanted to die on the bench, and he almost did.”

In 1999, Judge Barner had a massive stroke while presiding in a Fulton County magistrate courtroom. The stroke ended his career far earlier than he wanted, but it did not take his life. Though he spent the rest of his life paralyzed on his left side, he enjoyed traveling and the company of his three beloved Schnauzers.

Theodore Edward Barner Jr., of Roswell, died Friday at North Fulton Hospital of cardiac arrest, on his 82nd birthday. A funeral service is planned for 2 p.m. Wednesday at Birmingham United Methodist Church, Milton. Burial will follow at Green Lawn Cemetery. Northside Chapel Funeral Directors is in charge of arrangements.

Judge Barner, born in St. Louis, started his career in business. The Army veteran earned undergraduate and graduate business degrees from the University of Georgia and immediately went into hospital administration. He worked in the business side of health care for several years in Georgia and South Carolina before moving to Atlanta to work for the Atlanta Regional Commission, said his son Paul Barner, who lives in Alpharetta. His job at the ARC began in the '70s and his job was health care planning for the year 2000.

“During that I think he saw the law and got a feel for the law,” Mrs. Stout-Barner said. “So he started going to law school at night.”

Prior to taking the bench, Judge Barner had a private law practice. He was a kind and compassionate attorney, and exhibited the same qualities as a judge, she said.

“He always said that he’d give somebody the shirt off of his back, and I actually saw him do that,” she said. “There was a gentleman who needed a shirt for court, and he took his shirt off and gave it to him.”

Judge Barner, who had also been a justice of the peace, was known for his fair and honest approach on the bench, said Judge Charles Carnes, who was State Court chief judge for 17 years. Judge Carnes appointed Judge Barner to be a part-time magistrate in the '80s, and then watched as his career blossomed.

“I thought he was uniquely qualified for this position since he’d been a justice of the peace,” Judge Carnes said. “And he did a very good job as a magistrate. I kept up with him until I retired myself.”

Fellow judges were not the only ones who admired the work of Judge Barner. There were some from the other side of the bench who were appreciative, too, his wife said.

“The parents of some of the teenagers that came before him would call him and thank him for his sternness,” Mrs. Stout-Barner said. “I was always afraid he’d make parents mad, but he never did, not that I knew of anyway.”

Judge Barner is also survived by three additional sons, Glenn Barner of Lawrenceville, David Barner of Castle Rock, Colo., and John Barner of Troy, Ala.; and a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.