Harry Patrick Barnum, 68, of Ventura, California passed away peacefully on June 23, 2026 surrounded by his loving family. Harry was born on January 24, 1958 in Lockport, New York to Harry E. and Nancy (Ritzenthaler) Barnum. His childhood held happy memories of playing with his three siblings and numerous cousins. He attended the University at Buffalo where he graduated with a Masters of Geology and Geophysics. He loved being a geologist/geophysicist. His long and successful career took him to San Francisco, Texas, and Alaska. He recently retired from Cal NRG, where he held the position of Idle Well Team Lead.
Faith and family were the most important things to Harry. He met his wife Kathy (Vance) in Ventura where they raised their three children together. He loved being active in his children's lives, coaching basketball, baseball, building computers and even dancing in the Nutcracker Ballet with his daughter. He was also active within his church community. Harry had many interests and hobbies. In his early days he could be found surfing at C street with his friends or playing basketball in the local leagues. More recently, he enjoyed golfing and restoring his vintage British sports car.
Harry was kind, loyal, smart, creative and had a great sense of humor. His gentle nature and wisdom influenced anyone around him to become a better person. He is survived by his wife Kathy, children, Vance, Ava, and Will, siblings, Kathy (Chris) Prucha, Michael Barnum and Mary (Joe) Seeger. Additionally, he is survived by his mother-in-law Penney (late Don) Vance, sisters-in-law Mary (Doug) Trapp and Kelly (Jeff) Shadden, along with numerous nieces and nephews.
A celebration of life and funeral mass will be held on Thursday, July 9th at 10:00am at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Ventura California.
JOSEPH P. REARDON FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICE, Ventura.