Austin Fowlkes Barbour

Austin Fowlkes Barbour, 93, died peacefully on July 1, 2024. He was born August 13, 1930 in Indianola, Mississippi to the late Jeptha F. Barbour and Clara Godbold Barbour. He was preceded in death by his sister, Irene Barbour Fenlon and his brother, William Godbold Barbour. He was married to his loving wife, Sue Jordan Barbour, for 56 years until her death in 2011.

 At age 14, Austin moved with his family from the Mississippi Delta to Rockville Center, Long Island. There he met his wife, Sue, in high school where he was known as “Rebel”. He attended Richmond University for two years and then enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served during the Korean War as an air traffic controller. He married Sue on leave and following his service they moved to Oxford, MS where he attended and graduated from Ole Miss. He was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and was a life-long Rebel fan – Hoddy Toddy!

 Austin and his family moved from Mississippi to Jacksonville in the early 1960s when he took a job with Atlantic Cement Company. As a fun loving, people person who liked to entertain customers, he was a successful sales manager for the state of Florida. After an early retirement, he devoted his time to owning and operating a number of businesses in construction and homebuilding, including a very special beach house in Crescent Beach that he and family enjoyed for many years.

 “Big A” as he was known to his grandchildren, loved golf and played into his late 80s. He was also an avid boater and traveled the intracoastal waterway from Key West to South Carolina with family and friends. He was fascinated by aviation and became a pilot later in life and owned several planes. Music was a lifetime love and he was a talented musician who played many instruments but was best known for his piano playing at parties and family gatherings. 

 He is survived by his sons, Jeptha (Carol), Gregory (Leigh) and Austin, Jr.; grandchildren Bailey, Jeptha (Lauren), Andrew, Jordan (Megan), Anna, Kristen, Elizabeth, Tyler and Dylan; and three great grandchildren, Hannah, Jack and Jeptha.

 A memorial and celebration of life service will be held at Palms Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville Beach on August 9, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests any donations be made to K9s for Warriors, https://donate.k9sforwarriors.org/