Funeral services for Micky Barnica, age 45, of Glad Valley, SD will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 10, 2013 at the Isabel Baptist Church in Isabel, SD. Pastor Jamie Hamblet will officiate with burial in the Hillview Cemetery in Isabel.


Micky Lee Barnica was born in Hettinger, ND on September 28, 1967 to Larry and Sue Barnica. He attended a small, two-room, rural schoolhouse from 1st to 8th grade at The Progress School in Lemmon district. For his high school years he attended school in Isabel where he excelled as a scholar. He had a love for knowledge and enjoyed reading the encyclopedias as a child. He spent free time hunting, fishing, and spending time with family including his sisters Cindy and Laura. He went to college for a year and a half before he came back home to pursue what he considered the best occupation in the world, farming. Micky became partners with his father on the farm and ranch north of Glad Valley where he lived the life and work he enjoyed.


In November of 1999 Micky met Julie Gunderson, who was a music teacher in Timber Lake. They had a whirlwind courtship with a proposal on Valentine's Day and marriage on August 19th of 2000 in Halliday, ND. They were blessed with two children who added adventure and joy to his life. His daughter Sarah Belinda was born August 15th, 2001 and son Seth Larry on December 10th of 2003. Micky had a deep love of God and was active as a member of the Isabel Baptist Church. His greatest joy was to know that his family, and especially his children, had accepted Jesus as their savior and could be together in eternity. Family meant a great deal to him, and he had a special place in his heart for his nieces and nephews.


In February of 2009 Micky noticed a problem with his walking but didn't think too much on it; however, by the spring of 2010 it was noticeably worse. He started seeing doctors about it, and in July he was sent to the Mayo Clinic where he was diagnosed with ALS. It was prayer and God's grace that saw him through to the end. He went home to be with the Lord, surrounded by his family, at the hospital in Hettinger on Saturday, January 5, 2013.


Grateful for having shared in his life are his wife, Julie, and two children, Seth and Sarah Barnica, all of Glad Valley, SD; his mother and father, Larry and Sue Barnica, Glad Valley, SD; two sisters and brothers-in-law, Cindy Sue and Bret Pederson, Glad Valley, SD and Laura and Kenny Gill, Timber Lake, SD; and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins.


He was preceded in death by his maternal and paternal grandparents; and one uncle, Lee Barnica.


Visitation will be from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. followed by a family service at 7:00 p.m. all on Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at the Isabel Baptist Church.