Barry Lee Napier, 62, of Plant City, FL and formerly of Indianapolis, IN passed away Sunday, June 23, 2024, at Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, FL.  Barry was a loving, loyal and devoted father, son, brother, partner and friend.  His life was too short, and he will be greatly missed.

He was born March 29, 1962, in Beech Grove, IN to Jackie (Jack) Merle Napier and Joyce Dean (Stephens) Napier.

Barry was a 1980 graduate of Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis where he ran track and cross-country.  After high school, he received a cross-country scholarship to attend Ball State University in Muncie, IN.  Later he ran in and finished multiple marathons.

Family was everything to Barry.  He loved his children and being a father more than anything else.  He was so proud of the adults they had become.  Being a good father and setting a good example was the most important thing to him.  He loved Sunday dinners with his daughter Amanda every week, cooking together or going out.  It was his favorite day of the week.  Spending the holidays together was a favorite time for him as well.

Barry always had Indiana in his heart and was a big fan of Indianapolis.  He followed the Indiana Pacers and Indiana University basketball from afar.

Barry enjoyed watching IndyCar and Formula One racing, and attended the Indianapolis 500 every year.  He loved Colts football and returned home to Indianapolis as often as he could to tailgate with his family and friends and attend the games. He was a part of a Honda S2000 car group in Florida and met a lot of close friends through this group. They enjoyed many trips together over the years to the Tail of the Dragon in Tennessee, visiting local breweries and enjoying the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains as well as meeting up for other local gatherings.

Barry loved being in the mountains of North Carolina.  This was his happy place where he had hoped to retire one day.  Barry and his partner, Leigh, traveled to the mountains at least once a year, renting a cabin where they could relax, slow down, and take in the beautiful views.

Barry did a lot of traveling throughout his life, for business as well as for pleasure.  He worked in the Operable Wall industry his entire life and developed many close relationships over his 40+ years working in this industry.  He had a strong work ethic and was very dedicated to his customers and the industry as a whole.

Music was a big part of Barry's life.  He always had music playing when at home and in the car.  His taste in music was vast and diverse.  He enjoyed attending live music events, sometimes traveling to other cities to hear a band that he liked.  He loved to tell the story of one such event that Leigh and he attended while traveling in Italy.  While searching for things to do, they stumbled upon a performance of live opera singers to be held in an old church in Lucca, Italy.  Lucca is the birthplace of the composer Puccini.  This concert really touched Barry, partly due to the talent of the singers and partly the acoustics in the church.  It was an amazing performance and he loved to share his video of it with his friends

Survivors include his partner in life Leigh Crump of Lakeland, FL, his daughter Amanda Napier of Plant City, FL, his son Ryan Napier (Christine Jacobson) of Cambridge, MA, brothers Mark D. Napier (Rhoda) of New Whiteland, IN and Darrin J. Napier (Michelle) of Greenwood, IN, nieces and nephews Mark Napier (Ashley), Melissa Ames (Tevin), Katie Napier, Kelsey Napier, Jared Chance, Taylor Chance (Beau Whittaker), Brooklyn Snemis (Sam), and Kyle Shaver, great-nieces and nephews Colton Mull, Collins Napier, Peyton Napier, Cooper Napier, Charlotte Chance and Parker Bryan, Stella Wise, Tensley Wise and Alex Ames.

He was preceded in death by his parents in 2020 and a brother Randall Scott Napier in July 2021.

Reverend Tommy Frost will conduct a service on Saturday, July 13, 2024 at 11:30AM at Swartz Family Community Mortuary and Memorial Center, 300 South U.S. 31 (Morton Street) in Franklin, IN and will be live-streamed at www.swartzmortuary.com/obituary/barrynapier.  Friends may call Saturday, July 13, 2024, from 9AM until service time at the mortuary.  Burial will follow the service at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Greenwood, IN.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to United Food Bank and Services, 702 East Alsobrook Street, Plant City, FL 33563 or at www.ufbpc.org. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.swartzmortuary.com. Information 317-738-0202.