After liberal arts studies at Princeton University, he joined the United States Air Force in February 1954 as an Aviation Cadet. Commissioned in April 1955, he served as a Navigator in a series of flight tests and operations assignments before earning his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science Degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire in 1965 and 1966. After completion of his Air Force career, Barker worked in international programs for the Northrop Corporation and later as Vice President of International Programs for BDM International from which he retired in 1989 to return to Mount Dora. Active on the John F. Kennedy Labor-Management Relations Council, Barker served as the Cochairperson in 1995.
Barker has three grown children and eight grandchildren.
He and his wife of 41 years, Betty St. Louis, live in Mount Dora, Florida.