Donald Ellsworth Barnes

Donald Ellsworth Barnes, 84, peacefully entered eternal life on April 9, 2026, at his home in Aiken, South Carolina. Born in Mt. Airy, Maryland on August 23, 1941, Don graduated from Mt. Airy High School in 1959, Mt. Airy, Maryland. He then attended Western Maryland College (McDaniel College) and received a Bachelor of Science in both chemistry and physics in 1963. He then attended the University of Kentucky where he received a masters degree in nuclear physics.

After beginning his doctorate in nuclear physics, he was then called to duty by the United States Army during the Vietnam War where he was stationed in a nuclear research lab and also taught pilots for the US Army at Edgewood Arsenal in Harford, Maryland. After earning an honorable discharge as captain in the US Army, he took a job at the Savannah River Plant in Aiken, SC in 1971 as a nuclear physicist, where he ran reactors and later worked on nuclear clean-up efforts as well as implementing training programs while employed until 1996. Upon retiring from SRP, he opened Aiken Air Service where he trained numerous pilots as well as chartering individuals around the Southern United States.

Don had a love for trains and the B&O Railroad. He was instrumental in helping to establish the Aiken Depot Museum and designed the current exhibit on display today. He also designed an exact replica of the B&O Railroad in and around Mt. Airy, Maryland, during the 1940’s. These designs were featured in Model Railroad Magazine.

Don was a Godly man and was strong in his Christian faith. He would attend numerous bible studies and church services and led many people to the Lord. His strong faith sustained him throughout life, sharing the blessings of God’s infinite grace with others.

Don is survived by his wife Linda Ann Fabre Barnes, his two daughters, Dr. Cheryl Jeanne Barnes (Dr. James Allen Thomas, Jr) of Thomasville, Georgia, and Andrea Barnes Hartwell (Daren) of Oxford, Alabama; grandchildren John Albert Roesel (Charlottesville, Virginia), Haley Lynne Hartwell and Hunter Matthew Hartwell (Oxford, Alabama), brother William Herman Barnes Jr. (Mt. Airy, Maryland). He was preceded in death by his parents William Herman Barnes Sr. and Elizabeth Ann Naill Barnes, sister – in- law Sally Ann Thomas Barnes and niece Julia Ann Barnes McCall.

A service to celebrate the life of Don Barnes will be held on Monday, April 13, 2026, with visitation at 10 am and the funeral service at 11 am at Shellhouse Rivers Funeral Home with Reverend Ronald Smith officiating. Interment will be in historic Bethany Cemetery.

In Don’s honor, in lieu of flowers, the family asks that those who are able to make donations give to the Gideons International (gideons.org).

SHELLHOUSE – RIVERS FUNERAL HOME, 715 EAST PINE LOG RD., AIKEN, SC