April 29, 1973 – August 18, 2020
The Jarrad Barnes Memorial Fund has been established in loving memory to help support Eli, the son of Jarrad Barnes, the man we all loved so much and who we lost on August 18.
Jarrad passed away suddenly and unexpectedly last week at the age of 47. Anyone who knew Jarrad knew being a dad to Eli, who he adopted at 4 years old, was the singular most important thing in his life, and he was one of the most devoted fathers ever.
Jarrad was widely known for his generosity; now his family and friends ask the real estate community to be generous to his son. This fund will fold into a trust set-up for Eli Barnes, now 14, and a student at The Winston School.
The Jarrad Barnes Memorial Fund has been established to support Eli through high school and beyond.
Here is a link to the Jarrad Barnes Memorial Fund, and the following are some quotes about the kind, loving man our community has lost. I personally know how devoted Jarrad was to Eli, but he was also a pillar of our real estate community, a connector beloved by all.
Comments are welcome as we reflect upon and remember the too-short life of Jarrad Barnes:
“When I first started working in Real Estate, I used to host Jarrad’s open houses a lot. He was so good at teaching me how to acquire new clients when people stopped in, but without “pushing.” To this day, all my clients are sellers or buyers (and now their referrals) I met at open houses. The takeaway: he was always helping and mentoring me, even after my first year. He modeled how to take the best care of and give the best advice to our clients – obviously why he was very successful. He became like a brother to me, since, as I told him, I wasn’t quite old enough to be his mother… but close!”
-Charlotte Thompson, DPMRE InTown Office
“We always wanted to search for homes just to spend time with Jarrad. He held our hand every time we had difficult decisions to make about buying or selling, including the most difficult part – leaving a home we loved that he sold to us and moving to a new city. He helped us find our newly married house, our Knox/Henderson condo. When our first baby Haley started to crawl a little too much, he found our ‘grownup’ house within the Lakewood neighborhood – a place we grew to love immensely. Saying that Jarrad was always happy and so fun to be with is a huge understatement. Our daughters Haley and Emily loved him. Easter baskets and goodies seemed to magically appear at our house every holiday. Even in our new city of San Antonio, we received surprises in our mail from Jarrad and Eli. Jarrad continued his legacy by helping my business partners and other newlywed friends find homes as well. We all received so much love from Jarrad. He always listened and was always a friend. His love for Eli was so apparent to us in every conversation we had with him. Jarrad is a special person in our lives and we can’t imagine the world without him here. We miss him and hold Eli and the Barnes family in our thoughts and prayers.”
-Jon and Kathy Crumley, Clients and Friends
“Jarrad ALWAYS saw opportunities that others couldn’t see – in other words, he didn’t let normal things stop him from forging ahead to make a deal happen! He was kind, happy and fiercely loyal. On a personal note, I introduced him to my last boyfriend. When he met him and shook his hand, he told the guy (who is still a friend), that if he broke my heart, he’d kill him. I’d call that LOYAL! He always had a skip in his step and a smile on his face… We were business partners for several years. I was with him when he met his son and love of his life, Eli, for the first time. Neither of us had ever had children, so it was the blind leading the blind. It was iced over outside and cold, and we went to buy him some warm clothes – and it was a joke, trying to figure out what size to buy an 8-year-old kid. Jarrad was the love of everyone’s life, if you can be that as a buddy and a friend! Everyone truly loved him. And to watch him parent Eli made everyone love him even more!”
-Tricia Weiner, DPMRE InTown Office
“Jarrad was one of the most positive, happy individuals that I have ever met. As a friend and client, his cell number should have been 1-800-SERVICE.”
-Terry Crosby, Client and Friend
“I have known Jarrad for many years, and not only was he a great real estate agent, he was one of the kindest and most thoughtful people in this world. He always had a big smile on his face, and being around him was infectious – he always made me smile. He exuded goodness! And most importantly he was a great Dad to his son Eli. He will be greatly missed by everyone whose life he touched.”
-David Nichols, Allie Beth Allman
“What I remember most about Jarrad, aside from his exuberance for life and that extra-mile mentality he had about everything, was the very special bond he had with his son, even going so far as to get a license plate that read “Eli’s Dad.” Becoming a dad really changed him and changed his purpose in life. It was so cool to witness that. And to witness the growth of the strong urban real estate business he built here through a lot of hard work and perseverance. He could describe a new listing in a positive, creative way with such enthusiasm. We will miss that smile of his and his pure excitement over just about anything that happened in his or in Eli’s life. His “Hi! Miss Becky” still rings in my head!”
-Becky Connatser, Sales Manager, DPMRE InTown Office
“We were best friends for many years and business partners for nine. There was nothing Jarrad wouldn’t do for me, or anyone for that matter. We balanced each other out. He was always an ‘up’ person and there for me when I needed him. This is just such an incredible loss.”
-Joseph Gullotto, DPMRE InTown Office
