James "Jim" Hunter Barron, Jr. passed away peacefully at his home on January 13th, 2026, after a long battle with cancer. Born in Memphis, TN, on December 15, 1949, Jim was the son of Barbara Jean and James Hunter Barron, Sr. His father was a World War II veteran and a career Navy officer, so his family lived all over the country. Jim enlisted in the Army in 1972. During his 21-year career, he became an exemplary leader and was known as a "Soldier's Soldier." He spent time in the Ranger Regiment. He was selected to be the class leader in his Special Forces Aidman (Airborne) Course. There, he developed the most enduring friendships of his life. He earned many awards, including the Army Legion of Merit medal. At the end of his career, he oversaw a military hospital in Fairbanks, Alaska, supervising more than 300 Army personnel. He retired as a First Sergeant in 1993, the highest rank for an enlisted person at the company level. After retiring from the Army, he settled in Dalton, Georgia, and applied his military leadership skills in civilian life, including supervisory roles at MedNow from 1994 to 1997, Coorstek, Inc. from 1997 to 2001, and Shiroki North America from 2001 to 2018. At work, he was known as a caring and effective leader who spoke with candor, often working long, irregular hours to support his teams. At home, Jim was a loving father and grandfather. He was proud of his military career, but he always felt that his greatest accomplishment was watching his children excel in their own lives, first with Jimmy and Wendy from his first marriage to Sharon (Decker), and then with Slade and Melanie from his second marriage to Verana (Bethune). Jimmy and Wendy remember his youthful "adrenaline junkie" era, when he loved watersports, dirt bike racing, and skydiving. Throughout his life, he appreciated the outdoors and was an avid sportsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing, once proudly bagging a bear with a compound bow in Alaska. Slade and Melanie recall many long drives through the mountains, to the coast, or to nowhere in particular, and an active parent who was the coach of a little league baseball team and the president of the Parent-Teacher Association. He was a quiet man who was tough as a tank and lived his life just how he wanted.

In addition to his parents, Jim was preceded in death by his sister, Brenda Ryan, and brothers-in-law, Joe Weatherford and Dwight Bethune.

Jim is survived by his wife of forty-one years, Verana Bethune Barron of the residence; sons, James H. Barron, III and Leah Barron of Brooklet, Georgia, Slade M. Barron, Major, U.S. Army and Megan Barron of Anchorage, Alaska; daughters, Wendy Barron Durden and Wayne Durden of Statesboro, Georgia, and Melanie Barron, PhD, of Decatur, Georgia; grandchildren, Carlee Durden, Hunter Barron, Casey Durden, Emma Cate Barron, Evelyn Barron, and Audrey Barron; great-grandchild, Riggs Crowley; sister, Jean Weatherford of Augusta, Georgia; brother, Wayne Barron and Stephanie Barron of Charleston, South Carolina; brother-in-law, Ron Ryan of Mims, Florida; mother-in-law, Betty Nelson of Trenton, Georgia; sisters-in-law, Vicki Bethune of Lafayette, Georgia, Onvil and Larry Moore, Karen and Brian Shepard, and Beverly and Jimmy Lawson, all of Trenton, Georgia; and several nieces and nephews.

Services to celebrate the life of Mr. James Hunter Barron, Jr., will be held Friday morning, January 23, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at Ponders Melrose Chapel. He will be laid to rest at 1:30 p.m. Friday afternoon at the Chattanooga National Cemetery. Military graveside honors will be provided by the Dalton American Legion Post #112.

The family will receive friends at Ponders Melrose Chapel from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Thursday evening.

The family would like to thank the nurses at Hamilton Medical Center MICU, Traditions Hospice, and Dr. Loughridge at AdventHealth for their compassionate care, treating Jim with dignity in the most vulnerable moments of his life.

Arrangements are entrusted to Ponders Melrose Chapel, 138 Melrose Drive, Dalton, Georgia 30721. For more information, please visit www.selectedindependentfuneralhomes.org.