Ferdinand Ora Andy Barger, III

Ferdinand Ora “Andy” Barger, III, mountaineer, animal lover, and accomplished conversationalist, died Friday, February 14, 2020 at the age of 65. Memorial Service will be at 10:00 am, Saturday, February 22, 2020, at Downing & Lahey East Mortuary. Andy was born July 3, 1954 to Ferdinand Ora Barger, Jr. and Caroline Talbert Barger. Born to a military family, he spent a majority of his childhood living in exotic places such as Fargo, North Dakota and Vecinza, Italy. After his father’s passing, Andy and his family settled in Columbia, South Carolina where he attended and graduated from Dreher High School in 1972. He continued his education at Clemson University. In 1977, he met Wendy, and the two wed in 1979. The couple had two daughters together, Daisy (Tim) Speakman and Mary Alice Barger, before moving their family from Columbia, South Carolina to Andover, Kansas. Here they welcomed their son, Padget Barger. Andy spent much of his time engaging in scouting through Boy Scouts of America, serving as Scoutmaster of Troop 533 in Andover and even winning Scoutmaster of the Year in 2008. In addition to the passion he had for scouting, he took extreme pride in his children, and he taught them to love nature, be self-reliant, and appreciate the little things in life, like rocks and squirrels. Anyone who knew Andy personally knew that he had a love for conversation, and he would share the best stories about his experiences hiking mountains, kayaking swamps, and working in restaurants. In addition to being survived by his loving wife of 40 years and children, he is survived by his three brothers, Watson (Catherine) Barger, Michael (Deborah) Barger, and Stephen (Erika) Barger. Andy was a great supporter of local charities. In lieu of flowers, memorials have been established with: Beauties and Beasts, P.O. Box 783001, Wichita, KS 67278; The Lord’s Diner, 520 N. Broadway, Wichita, KS 67214.