John Robert Barton, 80, who found his greatest contentment on a sailboat easing out of Matthews Point Marina into the Neuse River, died on Monday, July 27, 2026, at Duke Hospital.

John was born December 22, 1945, in Greensboro, North Carolina, the son of Oakell Lee Barton Jr. and Fannie Lou Henson Barton. He attended Wingate College and North Carolina State University, where he once rode a horse, uninvited, into a rival frat house and went on at least one blind date, leading to marriage and becoming a devoted father to two young sons. He married Deborah Lee Wood and together they raised Mikel and Josh. He took to fatherhood with delight and curiosity, showing interest in his boys' interests, coaching youth soccer, and taking pride in their accomplishments, large and small.

His appetite for the world blossomed in the 1970s on a couple trips to Europe with his mom, dad, wife and brother, and it never really let up. He loved books and made his living working with words: first as a typesetter, then for three decades as a technical editor at the Environmental Protection Agency.

He was bright and charming, with humor on a quick trigger. His face came alive with laughter, and he shared it liberally with whoever was in the room. He was kind and easy with strangers, genuinely interested in people and what fascinated them, and moved by well-crafted art, well-prepared food, and well-intended adventure. He gravitated toward people with a spark and was never shy about sharing how impressed he was by them.

He loved tennis, billiards, traveling, and sailing most especially. He was a steady hand in a dangerous storm on a crossing from Key West to the Bahamas, with a seasick son who has never forgotten how calm his father was at the helm.

For nearly two decades, Amanda J. Smith was his beloved companion and partner. Their many adventures were among the great pleasures of his later life, along with a short and excellent list of others: robust meatballs, geography quizzes and anyone willing to give themself over to maintaining a sailboat and setting out to sea.

He is survived by his sons, Mikel Barton and his partner, Jen Skees, of Efland, NC, and Josh Barton of Burlington, NC and his partner Kieli Atherton of Sanford, NC; his five-month-old grandchild, Oakel Skees ("Oaka"); the mother of his sons, Deborah Lee Wood of Durham; his brother, Thomas Michael Barton, and his wife, Lida Barton, of Johnson City, TN; and Amanda J. Smith of Durham. He was preceded in death by his beloved parents.

In his last hours, Mikel and Josh, as well as Jen, Oaka and Amanda, were in the room telling stories and laughing together beside him. He passed down plenty, including a love of humor, a love of words and a love of water.

A private aquamation, like a cremation, but fittingly by water rather than fire, will take place Friday, July 31, at Endswell Funeral Home in Hillsborough. Beforehand, a few loved ones will prepare his body with a shroud, wildflowers and notes, then lovingly guide him into the aquatorium.

In keeping with his long-held desire, Mikel and Josh will thereafter carry his remains to the Intracoastal Waterway, raise a glass to him and play Otis Redding's "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay."