Barry Ray Huntsinger was born in Estherville, Iowa on January 22, 1943, the son of Kenneth J. and Mable L. (Moore) Huntsinger. He passed away May 5, 2026, at Avera Holy Family Hospital, at the age of 83 years.
A memorial service for Barry will be held at a later date.
He was a lifetime Estherville resident graduating from Estherville High School in 1961. He received an Associate of Arts degree from Estherville Junior College in 1963 and a Bachelor of Science degree from Mankato State College in 1966.
On March 26, 1966, he married his wife of 60 years, Marcia Eileen Stow of Dolliver, Iowa. They met while she was a bookkeeper at Iowa Trust & Savings Bank. They knew from the start that their love would be forever. They met when he was a part-time policeman for Estherville. The story has been that she (accidentally) threw a remaining glass of water on him from a second story apartment window as he was walking by below while on duty.
Barry was the original manager of KILR AM-FM in Estherville, in charge of its construction, staffing and operations for owners Robert D. Ray of Des Moines and Dan Sanderson of Estherville. He served in that capacity for 15 years. He also oversaw a rebuild of the KILR facility in 1975 when it was heavily damaged by a fire.
As a high school sophomore and junior Barry was a weekend announcer at Estherville’s first radio station, KLIL-AM. It went off the air in 1961. He then became a part-time reporter-photographer for the Estherville Daily News and then fulltime while he attended Estherville Junior College. While at Mankato State College he became North Mankato city editor for the Mankato Free Press. When he graduated from Mankato State and was preparing to join KICD fulltime, he was honored by the North Mankato City Council for his coverage of their city, particularly citing the historic 1965 flood. The citation read in part “for unbiased, factual and stellar reporting of matters pertaining to the city.”
During his radio station years in Estherville he served on the boards of and in various offices of the 16-station Iowa Radio Network, Estherville Chamber of Commerce, Estherville Industrial Development Corporation, Estherville Winter Sports Festival, Iowa Lakes College Housing Foundation, Emmet County Crime Commission, Estherville Civil Service Commission, Emmet County Judicial Magistrate Appointing Commission, Joint Judicial Magistrate Appointing Commission of Emmet, Kossuth and Palo Alto Counties, and the Estherville Elks Lodge. He also served as a board member of the former Iowa Trust & Savings Bank and subsequent owners, United Central Bank and First Interstate Bank. He also was a board member of the Agrifuel Corporation, an early attempt by a group of investors to build an ethanol plant in Estherville, far ahead of its time.
After KILR, Barry joined Harris Corporation, Broadcast Products Division, selling broadcast transmitters, towers and studio equipment to radio stations in five states. He later joined Workman Securities Corporation in Minneapolis as a financial planner, and eventually transitioned to his own firm, Lakeland Financial Services. He sold the practice in 2019 and retired.
Marcia was his bookkeeper at KILR for several years and supported Barry in his various roles. He was a lifetime member of the United Methodist Church of Estherville.
Barry had a passion for photography stemming from his Daily News days, and for genealogy, inspired by his mother. He tracked over 15,000 family and extended family members. He also enjoyed politics. While at Estherville Junior College, he helped to form its first Young Republicans chapter. In later years, he was active in the campaigns of Governor Ray, Mayors Jack White and Larry Jacobson, and State Senator John Greig. Barry and Marcia were guests at the first inaugural of Governor Ray and were guests at a reception at Terrace Hill, the Governor’s official residence.
He enjoyed sharing with his peers experiences from 1964-67 when he served as a part-time policeman for Estherville and Okoboji, and a special deputy sheriff for Dickinson and Emmet counties.
He and Marcia enjoyed vacations to Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, and to Jamaica, The Bahamas, Stowe, Vermont; San Francisco, Monterey and Napa Valley, California and Silverton, Colorado. They most enjoyed their visits to see family in Arkansas and Hawaii.
He was especially proud of his daughters, grandchildren and their families and his great grandchildren. He enjoyed watching their growth and achievements. Facetime was a great tool to chat with family members in later years. His daughters were often smilingly referred to as our “Three Little Princesses”.
He is survived by his wife, Marcia, three daughters: Carmen K. Davis, Fayetteville, AR., Heidi M. (Rob) Goebel of Estherville, and Brenda R. Huntsinger of Kailua, HI., and grandchildren: Rhett Goebel, Estherville; Alicia (Brandon) Scott of Farmington, AR; Elizabeth Davis and Hannah (Eston) Dunn, all of Fayetteville, AR., and Aaron Davis, Phoenix, AZ. He is also survived by three great grandchildren, Harrison, Hadley and Harper Scott, all of Farmington. Other survivors include a nephew, James (Karen) Huntsinger of Birmingham, AL; numerous cousins and Marcia’s siblings, Perry (Judy) Stow, North Mankato, MN; Jane Abbott, Marshall, MN; Mona (Steve) Strenge, Estherville and their families.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, James K. Huntsinger, Sr.
In lieu of flowers, please designate memorials to the Estherville United Methodist Church, 102 S. 8th Street, Estherville, Iowa 51334.
Online condolences may be left for Barry’s family at HenryOlsonFuneral.com
