Obituary of Barry Lawrence Pepper

After a brief illness, Barry Pepper Sr., passed away at home surrounded by his family on November 17, 2024, at the age of 70 leaving behind his two children, Barry Jr and Krystal (Shane) six grandchildren; William, Lila, Karley (Keegan), Dakota, Dani/Kendra, and Erik, and one great grandchild, Payton. 

For many years Barry had great pride in working in a magnesium mine outside of Haley Station, Ontario and also a long haul truck driver for companies stationed in the US and Canada. In between the times of a miner and a driver, Barry would take great pride in his handy work as a carpenter and mechanic. He worked with a dear friend for years, Donny, and the pair of them would rebuild vehicles, paint them, and do other tasks as well.  

Barry was the type of person everyone loved. He had a heart full of passion for life and all things that went along with it. He always found the good in the bad. He always could turn a negative thing into something wonderful and meaningful. 

Barry’s passion was spending time with his family and fur grandchildren were no exception. Each summer Barry, Krystal (Krystal’s late husband, Len), Karley, Dani/Kendra, Erik, and the fur babies would go to their trailer that was nestled in some pine trees on a small river off of Round Lake near Killaloe, Ontario. The days were spent tossing sticks in the river for the eldest dog, Rudy, to go fetch, or fishing off the dock with Erik, sitting in the row boat with Karley, or watching the fire and roasting hot dogs with Dani/Kendra. Late at night Krystal, Barry and Len would sit for hours in the dark listening to the bullfrogs croaking, crickets chirping and the odd fish splashing in the water. 

Considering Barry’s very large family, he leaves behind aunts, uncles, several nieces, nephews and cousins along with many family and friends who grieve along with us.

A very special thank you goes to Karley (and her boyfriend Keegan) who selflessly put their life on hold to help in the care of Barry. She moved back home to help care for Barry during his final weeks of life, traveled back and forth several times a week to and from Ottawa, and more. Thank you so much for making this all easier. Being able to keep Barry at home with his family until the end was one of the most important wishes that Barry had and the family worked hard together to ensure his wishes were met. Karley and Krystal took 12 hour shifts to ensure Barry was never left alone, and at the very end, he was not alone when he passed as he was with Karley. Barry Jr and Shane were fantastic in assisting with Barry Sr’s care.

With all of our hearts we want to extend our gratitude to all of the medical teams (Bayshore, Ontario Health At Home, Access, Affinity) that helped with the care of our father. Specifically we want to thank April, Simone, Stephanie, Vanessa, Courtney, Angela, Lisa, Erin, and Jonathan who never had any fear in being compassionate, humorous and transparent with us at all times during the time that our Dad needed their care. The education they shared with us, the tender care they provided to not only our Dad/Poppy but the tender care they provided for us in general was monumental. We could never have gotten through all of this without the help. Thank you!

A private service is being held for immediate family, with cremation to follow. A Celebration of Life will be held at Barry’s Mom’s house at 107 Brockville Street in Smiths Falls, Ontario on December 7th starting at 1 PM. All who knew and loved Barry are welcome to join us there. Please bring stories and photos to share with Barry’s family. There will be a box for photos, etc and a book to write out your favourite memories for the family to cherish.