Remembering LP Gas Hall of Famer Richard Barker

January 13, 2025 By    

Richard Barker, who spearheaded the construction of an underground propane storage cavern to alleviate supply challenges in the Midwest, died Dec. 5, 2024, at the age of 91.

Headshot: Richard Barker, Silgas
Barker

LP Gas inducted Barker, a native of Windfall, Indiana, into the Hall of Fame in 2022.

As the president of Indiana-based Silgas, Barker overcame obstacles to make his vision for an underground propane storage cavern a reality – a feat he explains in his 2022 Hall of Fame profile. The cavern in Seymour, Indiana, completed in 1979, could store 21 million gallons of propane.

“I honestly think it’s the will of God to do what I’ve done,” Barker says in the article.

Barker drew laughter and applause when, upon beginning his Hall of Fame induction speech on April 23, 2022, in Nashville, Tennessee, he said, “When I received this award, I think I was younger.” While the induction dinner and ceremony took place in 2022, Barker was part of the class set for induction in 2020 before LP Gas postponed the events in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Behind the microphone, Barker recounted his early days in the industry, how he joined his family’s company as an oil and propane delivery driver and later convinced his father to make propane a bigger part of the business.

Barker focused most of his induction speech on the storage cavern project, which followed a pipeline terminal build in Seymour featuring 40 34,500-gallon tanks that increased Silgas’ storage capacity to 1.3 million gallons.

“I recognized the industry was going to grow, and I required more supply,” he said in his speech.

Silgas’ wholesale business grew to 150 million gallons in annual sales. In taking the initial steps on the cavern project, Barker encountered naysayers, but he never wavered in his drive to develop the propane storage, situated 400 ft. underground.

“They laughed at me,” he said. “They said a company of my size could never build a cavern. Well, I went to work. It was like a red flag in front of a bull, I like to say.”

Barker’s obituary references his dedication over five decades to “the world of business” as well as his love for family and faith. Visitation and funeral services for Barker were held in December.

Featured homepage photo by LP Gas staff

About the Author:

Brian Richesson is the editor in chief of LP Gas Magazine. Contact him at brichesson@northcoastmedia.net or 216-706-3748.

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