John Barry Rose was born March 25, 2001, at Saint Charles Medical Center to proud parents, Kelli and JW Rose of Burns. The red-headed, freckle-faced little boy was an instant charmer and had the hearts of his entire family from day one. His grandpas, Poppy Carl and Poppy Gary may have been the most smitten of all, and John Barry began receiving new saddles and life lessons soon after he opened his eyes for the very first time.

On Jan. 31, 2006, John Barry was joined in life by his little brother, sidekick, and partner in crime, Tommy Jack Rose. Despite a few punches here and there, a handful of chipped teeth, numerous backyard brawls, several well thought-out pranks and ever present daily arguments, these two boys were nearly joined at the hip from the time Tommy could walk until Nov. 17 of this year. While it might not have been easily noticeable to the average person, it was easy for those who spent time with the boys to see that the brotherly bond between these two was abnormally strong. Through fighting, bickering, and wrestling matches, John Barry was Tommy’s biggest fan and most watchful eye.

John Barry didn’t grow up watching cartoons and playing with toys. Instead, you could find him with some sort of rope in his hand, even if it happened to be one made out of baling twine. It didn’t matter if it was the dogs, goats, Jerseys, or Grandma Helen’s chickens, it was guaranteed that you would find John Barry trying to rope them. But what he often forgot was that his mom, Kelli, was generally watching his every move out the front window of the house. The boys also enjoyed spending hours roping magpies, and when they finally got one, they usually plotted how they would take it back to the house to their mom who happens to be very afraid of birds. If he happened to be sitting in front of the TV, it was often because Gene Autry was on, or he was completely enthralled with an old western movie.

In 15 short years, John Barry accomplished more than most might hope to accomplish in a lifetime. He began his successful rodeo career around his home in Harney County and at the age of 4, Kelli decided she needed to teach the young man to be humble, so she started taking him to the PeeWee rodeos in Central Oregon where the competition would be stiffer and potentially “knock him down a few notches.” He won the all-around the first year and it was all downhill from there. It was during those first few years of PeeWee that he had to be talked into riding calves, as he didn’t really think that was up his alley. Following his first few rides, however, he was hooked and went on to become quite the rough stock rider.

John Barry had the attitude of a true winner and there wasn’t a single event, skill, or sport in this world that he didn’t believe he could be the best at. According to his dad, the kid had more confidence than he did ability, and it was because of this confidence that he managed to get in some pretty hellacious horse wrecks over the years. It didn’t matter what he was doing or who he was doing it with, he had the confidence that he was the best and found multiple ways to “make things work,” regardless of the circumstances. He had an, “if you’re not first, you’re last” attitude and when he did something, he did it with his whole heart. From a very early age, it was clear to see that when he put his mind to something, he did it, and he did it well.

An example of this attitude came at PeeWees several years ago during the last rodeo of the season. John Barry was neck and neck with another young man in the all-around race throughout the whole weekend. Before the last event of the day, John Barry took a little trip to the crow’s nest to see his Grandma Wanda, who also happened to be the secretary. Point blank, he asked her what it was going to take to win the all-around. She told him he would have to win the team roping, which was the only event left. With a simple “OK” and sideways smirk, he marched back down the stairs to his horse. John Barry won the team roping and the all-around that day. Confidence was not something he lacked.

John Barry truly believed that the only reason people raised cattle was for roping stock. It took his parents several years to get through to him that he didn’t have to rope something every time they went to move cows around. His mom recalls sending the boys out in the meadow to move a little bunch from one field to the other on several different occasions, but it always seemed that her last words to John Barry included something along the lines of, “I do not want to see anything roped out there, got it?” When the boys would get back to the house, John Barry generally had to explain to Kelli that he just “had to rope her.” Somehow, he always seemed to encounter that one cow or calf that wouldn’t cooperate without a rope around her neck. Funny how that worked!

There were several passions in life for John Barry, two of which were hunting and branding calves. He could often be found trading, swapping, or buying guns from someone. He was always finagling a way to get something new and had no problem asking random people where they got their gun and what kinds of animals they shot with it. Sometimes, this little trick he had of striking up such conversations, landed him with a new gun or two. He loved to shoot anything, but especially got a kick out of hunting rabbits with Tommy up and down the road. They made quite a pair. This year, he had the hunt of a lifetime when he and his dad both killed big bulls in Paulina. He had a smile from ear to ear for a solid week.

The kid had skills in a branding pen that most spend a whole lifetime trying to perfect. John Barry could climb on almost any horse and make it look easy. It didn’t matter what he was riding, the size of the pen, or the size of the calves, he made roping look effortless. He started branding on horseback before most kids learn to swing a rope and never slowed down. He was a heck of a hand for his age and certainly fun to watch.

It might seem like rodeo, horses, hunting, and guns were his only interests, but that really couldn’t be further from the truth. The kid poured his heart and soul into whatever sport it was that he could be playing at any given time. Whether it was basketball, wrestling, or football, he was all in, all the time. John Barry was thoroughly enjoying his first season of high school football and made several comments that he knew he and his class would be state champs at some point during their high school career.

If you spent much time around JB, and even if you didn’t spend much time around him, there is one thing you would have noticed… his laugh. He managed to get the giggles no matter what he was doing and always seemed to have a hard time stopping, His little girl squeal happened so often during football practice that his football coach, Stub, nicknamed him “Squeaky.” On top of that, the team agrees that he could have easily won the award for the slowest person on the planet to take a shower and get dressed after a game. It was just his personality! Some kids might have been embarrassed by both of these rather uncanny traits for a young man, but not John Barry. He embraced it with a smile and several more giggles and went about his business.

John Barry insisted on dressing and looking nice wherever he went. While he might not have readily admitted it to some people, he really liked to shop for the latest and greatest Under Armor sweatshirts, Hooey Hats, Nike Elite socks, and Twisted X shoes. John Barry prided himself in being well dressed and spent lots of time making sure he looked just right before he left for school, a game, or a rodeo.

Tommy and John Barry had quite the brotherly relationship, but that certainly doesn’t mean that John Barry didn’t pull a prank on Tommy on more than one occasion. One of the best went like this: both boys were out messing around one day by the water hole with the dogs when John Barry came with the bright idea of tying a rope around Tommy’s waist and securely fastening it to the collar of Lori Darlin’, the dog. Tommy was about 2 and wasn’t super feather-footed. When John Barry chucked the stick, that Lori was anxiously awaiting to chase, into the middle of the waterhole, you can probably guess what happened to Tommy, and you can also probably guess what John Barry’s uncontrollable laugh sounded like.

John Barry was the MacGyver of the family and could often be found trying to fix anything and everything with a piece of baling twine, strip of leather, or a chunk of wire. Additionally, he had the ability to convince Tommy to do all of his chores on any given night. John Barry had an extreme dislike for most forms of manual labor and would saunter around absolutely as long as possible just to waste a little more time in an effort to get out of some kind of chore. He was pretty lucky to have Tommy around picking up the slack!

When JB was little, he would sit in the backseat of the pickup practicing his ABC’s and when he would finish them, he would congratulate himself by saying, “Good job, John Barry!” It kind of became a family thing that continued through the years. He got lots and lots of “Good job, John Barry”s while rodeoing, playing basketball, wrestling, playing football, helping Tommy, and in the branding pen. While he is no longer with us, it’s safe to say that he deserves one more, “Good job, John Barry.” While it only spanned 15 years, he has completed the journey of life, and he did it with more love for his friends and family, desire to win, and determination to succeed than most. He has made his family and friends proud and we were very fortunate to have been influenced by such an impactful young man and his family, and for that, “Good job, John Barry.”

John Barry is survived by his parents, JW and Kelli Rose; brother, Tommy Jack; grandparents, Gary and Becky Rose, and Wanda Schnabele; great-grandmothers, Lois Stoddart and Helen Schnabele; aunts and uncles, Charmarie and Chad Bradach, Roy and Samantha Dowell, and Katy and Aaron Kafka; and cousins, TC and Taelor Hammack, Tiersyn Kafka, and Jackie and Emily Dowell.

He was preceded in death by his grandpa, Carl Schnabele.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 18 at the Rose Equine Facility in Burns. A dinner will follow and all are encouraged to attend and share stories.

Contributions may be made to the John Barry Memorial Fund at US Bank or a charity of your choice.