Milo Keith Barnhart (Lou) was born in Tacoma, WA on October 13, 1928, and his family moved to Olympia, WA the same year. He was an only child until his parents adopted his sister Donna Carol in 1937. Keith attended school in Olympia and graduated from high school there in 1946. He had one year of college at La Verne College in southern California, but in 1948 his family moved to Cloverdale, CA. He attended SRJC and graduated in 1950. He also sang lead parts in several Gilbert and Sullivan performances at SRJC. In 1951, he refused induction into military service and was given a two-year prison sentence. He served his time in Tucson, AZ and then returned to Cloverdale on parole. In 1953, while working for Builders Lumber Co, a logging company near Cloverdale, he suffered a skull fracture which temporarily impaired both his sight and memory. In 1955 he married Shirley Laursen, whom he had met at SRJC. They moved to Arcata, CA, and he got his teaching credential at Humboldt State College in 1958. He and his wife returned to Cloverdale then, and he began teaching at Hopland High School in 1959. In 1960, Keith received an unconditional pardon for his earlier conviction of refusing military service, signed by former President Dwight Eisenhower. He began teaching at Cloverdale High School in 1961 where he taught English, Journalism and Speech and Drama until his retirement in 1989. In 1997, he published a web site, Barny’s Review Page, which concentrated on reviews of fiction and non-fiction books. Keith was a talented musician, and loved to play jazz piano, string bass and trumpet. He spent many happy hours singing torch songs with his wife, Shirley, and performed in local jazz combos. Keith is survived by two daughters, Lettie (Barnhart) Smith and Cassandra (Barnhart) Grossman; he was pre-deceased by wife Shirley and daughter Jane (Barnhart) Linn. He has four grandchildren: Helen Osborn, Sophia Smith, and Rebecca and Benjamin Linn.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, March 26, 1 p.m., at Cloverdale High School’s East Gym. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to CHS’s performing arts department in his memory. Please direct inquiries to sm***@op*****.org“>sm***@op*****.org.
