Miles Daniel Barford

Miles Barford

Mattoon – Miles Daniel Barford, age 53, of Mattoon, IL, passed away January 17, 2018, at his home. 

His Memorial Mass will be held on Saturday February 3 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 921 Madison Avenue in Charleston, Fr. Hyland Smith, celebrant.  The Mass will be preceded by visitation at 9:30 a.m. in the church.  Ashes will be interred at Mound Cemetery at a later date.  Arrangements: Caudill King.

Dan is survived by his mother, Judy, of Charleston; brother, Paul (Carol), Henry and Will, of Madison, WI; brother, Ian (Anna), Olivia and Giovanni, of Evanston, IL; sister, Mary and her daughters, Sofia Danner and Johanna Danner of Lafayette, IN. Dan delighted in being a loving uncle to his nieces. Aunts are Debora Bunts (Don) of Fallbrook, CA; Pamela Anderson (Emmett) of Archie, MO; uncles, Christopher Barnhart (Debra) of Springfield, MO; and Richard Barnhart (Rita) of Tulsa, OK. Dan is survived by numerous Barford cousins across the country and especially in Milwaukee, WI. His father, Robert, preceded him in death on December 10, 2010.

Dan was born in Sioux City, Iowa, on July 31 (his mother’s 25^th birthday) in 1964. The family moved to Charleston in 1968. Dan’s schooling began at the EIU Lab School and ended with graduation from CHS in 1982.  Dan was a talented athlete and played #1 on the founding CHS boys’ tennis team. He was innately gifted at making art and music and produced copious amounts of both throughout his life. As a teenager, he absorbed his father’s love for classical guitar. He pursued a music degree from SIU-Carbondale in 1982. He graduated from College Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, under Clare Callahan with a major in Classical Guitar. He then earned a Masters Degree from San Francisco Conservatory in 1991, under renowned guitarist, David Tanenbaum.  His thesis consisted of transcriptions for guitar of several Scarlatti piano sonatas.  This work led to tours, performances and teaching experiences. Dan taught guitar at St. Joseph’s School of Music, St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Portuguese National Conservatory in Angra do Heroismo, Terceira, Azores.

His journey through life was marked by an unyielding devotion to art making. His remarkable facility with language led him to write copiously and to produce numerous pieces of unforgettable poetry. His broad intellectual interests produced unique perspectives on a range of subjects:  particularly in matters of spiritual growth, and a uniquely insightful and side-splitting sense of humor. The letters he wrote to family members will always be treasured. After his father retired, Dan returned to Charleston.  His family is in eternal gratitude for the devotion he displayed to his father during his long struggle with Alzheimer’s.

Nature was always Dan’s inspiration and joy. He was intimately sensitive to all its subtleties. The family gratefully suggests memorial donations be made to the Fox Ridge State Park Foundation or recipients of the donor’s choice.

Online condolences at www.hsckfh.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Miles Daniel Barford, please visit our floral store.