We Remember
URNESS, Barry
—
On Thursday, June 21st, 2012, at the age of 69, the Lord welcomed Barry James Urness into his eternal home. Survived by his loving wife Betty of 44 years, son David, wife Alison and children Kaelin and Erik, and son Dean and children Sarah, Emma and Naomi, brother Ted (Joey), Jack (Brenda), and many nephews, nieces and extended family.
Barry was born in Windsor, Ontario and grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan.
From a very early age Barry’s love of sports and people became a focus for the rest of his life. Barry and his bride moved to Kelowna BC in 1968 to start a practice of Chiropractic.
Barry’s unique ability to engage and involve people in all walks of life gave him opportunity to be involved in a wide range of sports and community endeavors.
Barry was a recipient of Kelowna’s Man of the Year Award in 1988 and this past April was presented the Anita Tozer Award given to an individual or group in recognition of an extraordinary and positive contribution to the quality of life in Kelowna. Earlier this week, it was announced Barry would be inducted into the Okanagan Sports Hall of Fame, an organization he founded in 2008.
Among his many involvements, he was a founding member of the Okanagan Sun Junior Football Team, member of the Civic Awards Committee for 25 years, President of the Kelowna Amateur Sport Society, Vice President of Sports Facilities & Equipment for the 1994 BC Summer Games, Provincial Director of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, Honorary Chair of the Mission Creek Greenway and president of Kelowna Amateur Sport Society. Barry was a visionary who worked tirelessly for the good of others.
Above all, Barry loved his family and sincerely cared for the welfare of his friends and patients. Cancer invaded Barry’s body but he refused to let it touch his spirit. Most of all, to the joy of his family, he trusted in his Saviour, Jesus Christ, the only true connection to God.
He will be deeply missed.
A celebration of Barry’s life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on July 4, 2012 at Trinity Baptist Church, 1905 Springfield Road, Kelowna, B.C., officiated by Pastor Tim Schroeder. In lieu of flowers, if you wish to honor Barry’s life, donations may be made to an organization of your choice.
Service
2:00 p.m. on July 4, 2012
Location
Trinity Baptist Church
Share with Others:
In lieu of flowers, if you wish to honor Barry’s life, donations may be made to an organization of your choice.
Service Information
Service Details
The service for URNESS, Barry is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on July 4, 2012 . Below you will find the map for the service location and the contact information should you have any questions.
Address & Contact for Service Location:
Trinity Baptist Church
1905 Springfield Road Kelowna, BC
Phone:
Special Requests:
None.
Funeral Pointers:
Condolences
Dr. Urness played an important part in my life during several “chapter” changing periods. His advise and calming friendship was rock solid and will be missed. My thoughts and prayers to the family…T
The Urness family. We are so very sorry for your loss. We appreciate Barry’s support to our family over the years. We enjoyed many conversations during our visits. He will be deeply missed. Morley and Rita Halter, and family.
My condeolences goes out Urness family.Take care!
Betty and the Urness family, my sincere sympathy to you all. Barry was a man dedicated to the whole community and he will be sorely missed.
Harald Hall
To the Urness family. Barry was a wonderful, kind and sensitive gentleman. He will be greatly missed. May the love of those around you and the love of God, comfort you through the days ahead. Paul and Janneke.
Dear Betty and family, We are so sorry for your loss, we hope you will be able to have the Memories of love and friendship as treasures to carry with you always. When the Lord calls his loved ones home, he leaves a gift of memories in exchange. We were so fortunate to have had the privilege to have known and worked with Barry. We are sorry we won’t be in town for the service.
God Bless you and your family always.
Val and Norm and Family
Our condolences go out to the family of Barry’s. Remember the fun times & take comfort in the memories that were made, as they are very precious.
Len, Linda Waege & Family
Walter Waege
We will truly miss Dr. Barry. We visited him frequently over many years. He was more than our chiropractor – he became our good friend. We truly loved all the talks with Barry. God must have needed a good soldier in Heaven.
Betty Urness and Family We pray and hope that all the family is blessed with extra strength to cope with the loss of a loved one . First meeting Barry in 1977 we enjoyed visiting with him daily for several years always a pleasant happy chat over breakfast .
His smile was always so genuine full of love and happiness . We were fortunate to have a visit with him on May 24th at the airport. Even though his health was failing he still had that warm smile we will always remember .
A very special person that has gone to his Eternal Home .
Bill & Ronnie Pihach
Betty and family, It was total shock to hear of Barry’s passing. I was positive that he was going to beat this thing. I treasured my special friendship with Barry. I will miss our lunches at the Legion. His influence within the Community will be missed.
Dear Betty and Family, Words cannot express our sorrow over your loss. Barry was so special to our entire family over the past many years. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Bill, Rose, Camille & Kari Baggett
As a young person who was fortunate to be a patient of Barry’s, I have looked up to and adored this man my whole life. He made such a difference in my life, and many other’s lives. He was a genuine healer,and a wonderful man. Our family will forever be touched by his wisdom and kindness. We send our love and condolences to his family as he joins his heavenly father.
Candace and Christine Keen
My most sincere condolences go out to your family, Barry was a great man, and I have always been so thankful for the support and encouragement he gave me when I first started my practice. Rest in peace, “Chief”, you will be missed!! You were a true Leader!!!
To Dr David Urness and family I send my heartfelt sympathy on the passing of your dear Dad. A very wonderful man and chiropractor and outstanding citizen to the Kelowna people. He will be missed greatly by all of us.
Betty, David, Dean and families, I’m so sadden to hear the passing of Barry. He touched many lives in this City. His caring touch meant a lot to all of us. He was always there for Jim and I whenever we needed a treatment. On weekends he would come open up the office or on occasion met him at he house. I will always hold that dear to my heart for all his kindness.
May God give you all the strength you will all need while going through these most difficult days ahead. May you rest in peace with no more suffering.
Betty, David, Dean & family . . . So saddened to hear of Barry’s passing. What an exceptional man. So caring for others & so passionate about football & sport in Kelowna. He truly gave his all to his community. He will be missed. Our love & prayers are sent your way as you mourn his passing. Cherish your memories & the good times you shared. All our love, Bernie & Ev & all the Monteleone’s
We are so sorry for your loss. The whole community is reeling. I guess we all hoped he would pull through.My husband and i have known him for over 20 years.He was like a second father to us,and like a grandfather to my two girls.We will miss him alot.We know your pain,as our hearts are broken also.
PS:I loved giving him little thank you crafts i had made, for Christmas presents,and he loved each one.It was a small token of thanks for all he had done for my family and i over the years.(Michelle)
All our love ,
The Ramsden Family
Dear Betty and family,
We were so sad to hear of Barry’s passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this most difficult time. Barry was a wonderful man and left a great legacy of friendship, love and decication. We know that he will live on forever in your hearts and in your thoughts.
Betty & Family,
On behalf of the Original Okanagan Sun Coaching Staff…..May you know no more sorrow, and only have great memories of a good man. Thoughts & prayers.
don charnaw
Dear Betty:
We are so sorry for your loss. We always enjoyed you both since getting to know you at WPC. Good memories of Barry help us. We are all mourning with you, “but, not without HOPE”
Love and prayers.
I am very sorry for your loss.
May the Lord comfort you all in this difficult time.
To Betty,and the entire family, army of friends, and all impacted by Dr.Barry’s amazing life near and far:
Please be comforted knowing Barry is now on that heavenly field in the Divine Presence of his Heavenly Father,his Saviour, Jesus — Leaders of the greatest team ever. Barry’s Jesus-like spirit touched many lives, including this one. His enormous legacy lives on. Doc Barry indeed went the distance!
wally dennison
Our sincerest condolences go out to all of you. Barry has been part of all of our lives since we moved here in 1980. His warmth and genuine caring came through in everything he did. We will always remember his warm smile like a ray of sunshine and how he always spoke of his family with so much pride and love. We were very fortunate to have him touch our lives. He will always be with us. May happy memories warm your hearts, and caring friends surround and comfort you always. With Love,
Judy & Tremain Frantze, Colin, Natalie,& Maddoc Frantze, Calen Frantze, Wade Frantze.
Betty and family,I was shocked and saddened to hear of Barry’s passing. I was one of his first patients when he opened his practice. He was such a kind man even giving me an after school and weekend job working in his office. As the years passed we also became good friends with you and Barry and I remember many dinners and Bbq’s with the two of you. Barry never forgot me and he would surprise me with a call every once in a while if he knew I was in Kelowna. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family as you move forward..Stay strong
Our thoughts are with you at this difficult time.
It is with great saddness that we hear of the passing of such a wonderful man and leader in the chiropractic field. Our condolences to the entire Urness family & friends. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.
We were saddened to hear of Barry’s passing. We know the peace of God as only He can give will be with you, Betty, and David and family.
Our sincere sympathy.
David and Ann Heaslip.
Betty,David,Dean and Family
Our condolences to your family in the loss of a husband,father and great community supporter. Our prayers are with you.
Dearest Betty,David, Dean and families;
Please accept my deepest sympathy on the death of Barry.He fought the good fight and will be deeply missed in this city that he loved and gave his all to.
What a wonderful man with such a warm wonderful spirit and smile to light up wherever he was.
Jesus will walk with you and comfort you on this journey ahead.
Love and hugs, Beryl Baldeo
Betty … David… Dean ‘n families
If…. I can ever find the words to tell you what is in my heart… my words will be inept.
Dr Urness’s letter about his retirement shocked me. I of course was selfishly feeling, “Wow… now what do I do?” Than, I read the rest of his news and I was stunned… It took me a long time to try to put it all in to proper perspective. If that’s possible….
On the back of his letter in his own penmanship he wrote to me encouraging me to keep up the fight. He, who was fighting his own ”fight“,reaches out to inspire someone else!!! That is truly the earmark of a selfless man. To be honest with you I had given up… but, after reading his words I felt I must find within myself the will to continue on. How do I thank Him for that? How do I tell Him that he, singularly had given me more than he will ever know? Not only did I benefit from his medical expertise… but I benefitted from his gentleness… his empathy… his honesty!!! It was He, on so many levels who gave me so much… not just since my auto accident, but for the past 36 years ever since I became a patient of his. The way that he treated my late mother (May O’Brien) was beyond practitioner/patient. His reaching out to the family when we lost her in 2000 spoke to us in a very personal way.
Dr Urness, I will miss you…. I am grateful for the opportunity to have known you.. to have benefitted from your medical expertise. And……. most certainly to call you Friend…
Here is a quote I once read that I feel speaks about Him….
“His life is so gentle and the elements so mixed in him ………..that nature might stand up and say to all the world……… this is a man “
We were saddened to hear of Barry’s passing. We know the peace of God as only He can give will be with you, Betty, and David and the rest of the family.
Ann and David
What a loss on so many levels! A kinder ,more gentle ,caring man are in such scarcity these days.Such determination and such a wonderful lifetime of achievement and yet ,he would always manage to enquire after our kids and after so many years!.We won’t see another Sun game without thinking of him!! We share in your loss and send our prayers your way Respectfully,James and Kathleen Porteous(1983-1988 Sun Alumni)
I know God answers prayer;he just doesn`t always say “Yes”.I sure am going to miss his smilin face and our animated chats about the Sask.Roughriders!My thoughts and prayers are now with the family.
Betty, Dean, David and families, we are so honoured to have met and know such a miracle worker. Barry has blessed and healed so many people, you must be so proud of him. We pray for peace and love to be surrounding you today and always.
Love always
Dear Betty and extended family. Our sincere condolences to you and your family. He will be deeply missed by so many. My family and I truly feel blessed for even being a small part of Barry’s life. He was, and still is, an inspiration to all who knew him. May your warm memories comfort you all during this difficult time.
Barb, Rob and Bailey Tiller
I never really knew Barry but my son Carson had three great years playing for the Sun and is now heading to Queens University to continue playing football because of the Sun so Thank You Barry for your hard work in getting that great organization started it has served a great deal of young men well.
Dear Betty,Dean,& David,
We are in Calgary and are sorry to have missed the celebration of Barry’s life. We have been helped many times by his medical skill,but have also been blessed by his unabashed love for his Lord.We pray that God will supply strength and comfort for you all in the days ahead.
To the Urness Family,
We were saddened to hear of Barry’s passing.
In the short time that we knew him, we felt his genuine friendship and acceptance…..sterling qualities indeed, evidenced by the vast outpouring of love and support shown by this community.
Although we will miss his presence here, we rejoice that he is safe and secure in his heavenly home where we will meet again some day. We trust that the Lord will continue to bring you comfort and peace even in the midst of pain and loss.
We are so sorry to hear of Barry’s passing, Our family saw Barry almost every day when we were children as Barry and my brother Andy were best of friends and we lived almost next door. From my Mum Freda Schuck and the rest of the Schuck family our sincere condolences.