Jim Barr, former NRCA chairman of the board, passes away

Jim Barr dedicated decades of service to the roofing industry.

Jim Barr, president of Barr Roofing Co., Abilene, Texas, and former NRCA chairman of the board, passed away August 12. He was 72.

Barr attended the University of Texas, Austin, before returning home to work full time at his father’s roofing company, Barr Roofing. In 1993, he became a minority shareholder in the business.

During his roofing industry career, Barr served as president, owner and operator of Barr Roofing. He began volunteering with the Midwest Roofing Contractors Association and in 2001 was elected as MRCA’s president. After his presidential term, he remained an active volunteer and continued to serve as chairman of the organization’s Technical and Research Committee for eight years, acting as MRCA’s representative to NRCA’s Technical Operations Committee.

In 2009, Barr was elected to NRCA’s board of directors and served on NRCA’s Technical Operations and Manual Update committees. In 2011, MRCA bestowed its highest honor on Barr — the James Q. McCawley Award, which is presented annually to an individual in recognition for outstanding service to the roofing industry. The next year, he was elected to NRCA’s Executive Committee, where he served as a vice chairman from 2012-2014. The Roofing Alliance also recruited Barr and elected him as secretary-treasurer while he served as NRCA’s chairman of the board-elect and then NRCA’s chairman of the board in 2017.

In 2024, Barr was awarded the prestigious J.A. Piper Award, presented to one roofing professional per year for exceptional and sustained service to NRCA and the industry.

In Abilene, Barr gave back to his community, serving on numerous boards, including the Military Affairs Committee. He also founded the Key City Rhythm & Blues Festival, which ran for four years beginning in 2015, and participated in Dancing with the Abilene Stars, a local event where he and 11 dancers helped raise $300,000 for Hendrick Home for Children.

Barr is survived by his wife, Sue, and his children Alana Michelle Hendrick and her husband, Joel, with grandsons William Young and James Young; Amy Lane Barr, with grandsons Dylan Barr and Beau Barr; James Alan Barr Jr. and his wife, Mary Catherine, with grandsons Tripp Barr and Ellis Barr; Austin Dylan Esquivel and his wife, Briana, with grandsons Easton Esquivel and A.J. Esquivel and granddaughter Gabriela Esquivel; Chelsea Kendall Esquivel and fiancé, Ethan Music; and Sydney Elese Tebet and her husband, Nicholas, with granddaughter Isabella Tebet and grandson Thomas Tebet. He also is survived by his sister, Brenda Meckley, and her husband, Jim, and nieces Megan Meckley and Taylor Meckley.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to Hendrick Hospice Care or The Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest.