Bill Joseph Barger never used an alarm clock. Born in New Jersey 1944 to Bill Early Barger and Eve Finch Barger, Bill was born with an innate sense of time. Though he spent his early years in Connecticut with his little sister, Betsie, it was Michigan he claimed as his childhood home as that was where he learned to run on the sand dunes in summer and drive on the frozen lake shore of Lake Michigan in winter. Playing as lineman in high school and college, Bill was always proud to have been co-captain of one of the first integrated teams in Michigan–a lesson he would carry his whole life. Though his father hoped he would take over the family business after college, Bill had other ideas. He traveled and eventually found himself in Nashville, TN as a business man in the music scene in the classic days of Nashville–back when you could meet Willie Nelson in the alley behind the Ryman for a beer and a smoke.
Feeling called to something else, he enrolled at Vanderbilt Divinity School. It was through his student ministry that he stumbled upon the love of his life–Kim. Thanks to his tireless determination and great sense of timing, he eventually caught her eye and her heart. They were married amidst a picnic and volleyball game on the lawn in 1983 at Trinity Presbyterian with his son, William Charles, serving as the best man.
Again, blessed by his sense of timing, he was first stationed in Harlan, KY, where he was soon trusted by locals far more than the sheriff. In 1986, Bill and Kim welcomed their daughter, Molly.
Molly, who considered her father’s gift of timing to be the best joke in the world, opted to wait an extra three weeks to coincide with the major union strike at the time.
His perfect sense of time struck once again as he prepared to interview at new churches in 1987. Though only meant to be a practice interview at a smaller church whose preacher was retiring, Bill said the church in Dickson, TN immediately felt like home. He moved the family to Tennessee, also taking up the position at the Ellis Grove Presbyterian Church in Waverly.
Bill would begin every morning as he said every human should–with a good cup of coffee. No matter the hour he went to bed or the hour he needed to be up–he never woke up late and never used an alarm. Rather, he began each day by grinding the coffee, washing the dishes, and collecting the paper. At home and at the church office–there was always a pot of coffee hot and ready to share. There was never a day during the week that someone didn’t pop by for a visit, and he welcomed each one. Between visitors, he researched the lectionary each week and outlined the sermon. He never wrote his sermons down–relying instead on a handwritten outline and notes from his research and translations. On Sundays, he would drive to Waverly for the early service, and then back to Dickson for the later service. He was never late–his sense of time remaining perfect.
At the Dickson Church, he was known for his booming voice, gentle words, and joyful laughter.
He could catch the attention of any child, and loved the Children’s sermons the best as he sat on the floor by the pulpit and spoke directly to them. Bill didn’t believe in cooping up animals or children, and he would preach amid the sounds of giggles and stomping feet as the children ran among the pews. In this, he had the full support of his friend, Colonel Hooper, who would gleefully tell new visitors that if the kids bothered them, they should find a different church.
He preferred good questions over absolute answers, and always guided members of the congregation by questions not affirmed truths. He was known to be good friends with religious leaders of many faiths, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jewish–even the occasional Tennessee fan. And though he wouldn’t allow his daughter to curse until she’d passed him in higher degrees, he was known to offer the occasional well-placed curse from the pulpit. Through the churches in Dickson and Waverly, he created a community of family that has now spread across the country in the kids and families who knew him and loved him.
Bill made the world better not through huge public acts, but a million tiny kindnesses and shared cups of coffee. He solidified his perfect sense of timing when he left this world peacefully Christmas morning, with Kim and Molly by his side.
Bill is survived by his wife, Kim, his son, William, his daughters, Molly and Rachel (honorary), and sister, Betsie.
A service will be held on Friday, March 21, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Dickson.
Bill was a storyteller all his life, so in lieu of flowers, we ask you to share your stories of Bill by emailing them to wjbstories@gmail.com.
If you’d still like to make a donation in his honor, please donate to the Dickson County Help Center or the Dickson Humane Shelter.
