John N. Barbale, Jr., passed away peacefully on Friday, April 3rd, 2026, at Life Care of Auburn. He was a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather and will be deeply missed.

He is survived by his wife and best friend of fifty-nine years, Joyce, and their children Shawn Barbale and wife Christina, Wendy Crockett and husband Timothy, as well as three grandchildren, who truly adored their Papa, Lauren Crockett-Girard and her husband Andrew, Olivia Barbale and her boyfriend Michael Carpenter, and Daniel Crockett. He also leaves his dear sisters, Linda Demers and Donna Power, as well as beloved nieces and nephews.

John was born in Worcester, son of the late John N. and Arianna (Ryan) Barbale, Sr. and graduated from Worcester North High School. Following high school, John served his nation honorably in the US Air Force from 1962 to 1966.

John was a member of Carpenters Local 107 and worked with various contractors for over 37 years. He also enjoyed serving his community on the Worcester Zoning Board of Appeals and East Side Community Development Association. John attended Bible Way Baptist Church in Auburn for the past two years and enjoyed fellowship with the congregation there.

John was a lifelong learner. He loved nature and photography and took many stunning pictures of God’s beautiful creation. He was talented woodworker and he was the guy that could fix anything. In fact, he would often get an urgent phone call from either his son or son-in-law for a home improvement project gone awry. He was always faithful to come to the rescue.

“Pup,” as the grandkids called him, took great interest in everything they did and cheered them on with words of wisdom – sometimes hilarious ones. They have many “Pup-ism’s” to treasure and keep in their memories.

He enjoyed his morning coffee with his buddies at the Shell station, working in his yard (his lush green lawn was quite an enviable sight!), and afternoon rides with Joyce where they would discover interesting little shops and restaurants to visit. We always said that he had a built-in GPS because he seemed to know how to get to the most unusual and remote places!

The family would like to extend gratitude for the outstanding care John received at Life Care Center of Auburn. The loving staff (and some of the residents!) became like family to us for the short time he was there.

Calling Hours will be on Monday, April 13, from 10 am, until his Funeral Service begins at 1 pm in MERCADANTE FUNERAL HOME & CHAPEL, 370 Plantation Street, Worcester. Interment with Military Honors will follow at Worcester County Memorial Park, Paxton.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Bible Way Baptist Church, 18 Heard Street, Auburn MA 01501.