Stu Barton 'Let His Light Shine'

Stu Barton was a young boy when the sound of drums and singing led him to crawl under a fence to watch the night dancers at the annual Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial.

Little did the Navajo youth know that he would one day help coordinate and lead the cultural event along with his wife, Flo, says the announcer for a new video showing Barton’s family and friends gathering to sing a song in his honor.

Barton, a long-time CRC member and the son of a CRC evangelist and missionary interpreter, died on Jan. 1, 2016.

“It (the Ceremonial) was of the utmost important to Stu and Flo to preserve and teach non-natives about the native way of life. The Ceremonial has been a perfect stage to do that,” says the announcer.

Held the second week of August every year, the Ceremonial includes native dancing and singing as well as an arts and crafts show, a rodeo and a parade.

Stu Barton would sleep on the grounds and wake up in the middle of the night to welcome participants. He was also known for his big smile as he drove around in a golf cart greeting people.

“Stu and Flo were a great couple. They were a team and to their credit they were very loyal to the Ceremonial activity,” said Ron Polinder, former superintendent of Rehoboth Christian School and friend of the Bartons.

Flo Barton is still living, but she misses her husband deeply, said Polinder.

“Stu and Flo have long honored their people and their tradition, and they have also been as faithful as could be to the church,” said Polinder.

Barton was born on April 14, 1940 in Fort Wingate, N.M. He attended Rehoboth Christian School and went on to become a journeyman plumber and to earn a bachelor’s degree in secondary education with a major in industrial arts and a minor in physical education from Oklahoma State University.

He worked for a time as a shop teacher and basketball coach at Rehoboth Christian School and then taught and coached for more than 30 years at Wingate High School.

“Stu was a very good teacher,” said Polinder. “He was no nonsense and could be gruff in a good way. The kids respected him.”

The patriarch of a large family, Barton and his wife loved to attend sporting events and cheer on their children and grandchildren, said Rev. Al Mulder, former pastor of Gallup CRC, where the Bartons were members.

“They travelled all over the place to see the games. They really loved sports, especially basketball and baseball,” said Mulder.

Stu Barton was very committed, through the annual Ceremonial and in other ways, to getting involved in the lives of people, said Ted Charles, a Navajo CRC member who has served as an elder in his church in New Mexico.

“He was a good friend. We met in 1955 when we were at Rehoboth together,” said Charles. “He did a lot to support Rehoboth and the church. All in all, he let his light shine.”