Cancer claims Lt. Barnes
BELLEVUE
Earl Barnes, a lieutenant in the Bellevue Police Department traffic unit, died Saturday at his Sammamish home after a six-year battle with myeloma, a rare form of blood cancer.
It was two days before his 44th birthday.
He had a natural charisma that drew people to him, but he wasn't aware of it, said his wife, Dana.
"That's what attracted me to him," she said. "He was very approachable and not intimidating."
Lt. Barnes joined the department in August 1976, and early in his career became a motorcycle officer. He later worked as a narcotics detective and a property-crimes detective. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1990, later became a patrol supervisor and for a time managed the Eastside DUI Task Force.
Bellevue police Capt. Mike Pentony described him as a dedicated professional who never let his illness show. Lt. Barnes was so intent on doing his job, said Pentony, that few people knew he wore a chemotherapy pack to work before he went on medical leave last year.
Dana Barnes said that, statistically, her husband should have lived only a few years after he was diagnosed. She said the extra years gave him time to instill a sense of values in his daughters, Kelli, 15, and Stefanie, 12, and he wanted them to remember what he taught them.
Lt. Barnes received a bachelor's degree in criminal justice at the University of Washington and continued his education on the job, getting a master's degree in business administration from City University in 1990.
An instructor in the department, Lt. Barnes was a past president of the Black Law Enforcement Officers Association of Washington and past president of the Bellevue Police and Fire Golf Club.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Green Funeral Home, 1215 145th Place S.E., Bellevue.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks a donation be made to the International Myeloma Foundation, 2129 Stanley Hills Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90046. Louis T. Corsaletti's phone message number is 206-515-5626. His e-mail address is lcorsaletti@seattletimes.co.