J. ROY BAREFOOT JR, 83 Valley businessman was officer at Wean

The former businessman also gave his time for community-related activities.
By PAUL WHEATLEY
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- J. Roy Barefoot Jr. was a major part of the Mahoning Valley's business boom in the mid-1900s even before he graduated from high school.
He took a job in May 1941, his senior year of high school, with Federal Machine & amp; Welder Co. and quickly became plant manager.
Years after graduation and college, Barefoot would become president of the Warren-based business, which once employed 1,200 people and did an estimated $25 million in annual sales.
Barefoot, 83, died Monday in Columbus after a long illness.
He was born Oct. 20, 1918, in Braddock, Pa., a son of J. Roy Barefoot Sr. -- a U.S. Steel Corp. worker -- and Nellie Thompson Barefoot.
He played football, worked on the school paper and took part in drama productions at Swissvale High School. He attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology and graduated from Pennsylvania State University.
Barefoot also tried his hand at stopping pucks as a goalie for the Penn State varsity team. He played professional hockey also.
He became president of McKay Machine Co. after it acquired Federal and completed his career as executive vice president of Wean Industries Inc., which acquired McKay in 1970.
Community service: Despite running a major corporation, Barefoot also was a community leader, giving his time to more than 11 area groups. He served as president of the Trumbull County Tuberculosis and Health Association and was director of the Warren Chamber of Commerce.
He served in the Question Club, made up of 75 leading industrialists from across the country.
He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1944, serving until 1946 in the Pacific Theater. Barefoot was in charge of construction and maintenance at naval ammunition depots on Okinawa and Saipan during his service. He left the Navy as a lieutenant junior grade.
Barefoot was often in the news, appearing in The Vindicator at least nine times from 1958 until 1977 for work accolades. He was also a golfer and an outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing.
Family: He and his wife, the former Marjorie I. Miller, and their three children lived on Fifth Avenue in Youngstown. Barefoot picked up his roots and moved to Liberty Township, where he lived until a year and a half ago.
He had moved to New Albany, Ohio, to be near his daughter, Sallie B. Cochran. His other children are Brian and Bruce.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday in First Presbyterian Church of Youngstown.
wheatley@vindy.com