Sylvester Barnes III, RPh, ("Puggy"), a resident of Wheaton, Illinois, was born to the late Sylvester Barnes, Jr. and Dorothy (Goins) Barnes on July 12, 1951 in Cassopolis, Michigan. Sylvester believed in God, accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, and was called to be with the Lord on June 14, 2018 at the age of 66.

Sylvester and his family moved to Elkhart, Indiana in the early 1950s. He was humble, enjoyed playing with his siblings, and would often laugh when telling the story of how he and his brother learned to swim by being thrown into a creek. At an early age, Sylvester demonstrated a natural gift for academics, especially science. His love for science was enhanced with a chemistry set that he frequently played with as a small child. Sylvester graduated from Elkhart High School. He attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. While at Purdue, he became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He enjoyed jogging and playing basketball while pursuing his academic studies. Upon graduation, he received his degree in pharmacy.

Sylvester practiced as a registered pharmacist for over 40 years. He began his professional career as a pharmaceutical sales representative at Eli Lilly and Company. He went on to practice clinical pharmacy for more than 20 years at Memorial Hospital, and St. Anthony Hospital, both located in Michigan City, Indiana. He became the pharmacy manager for the hospitals. Sylvester later served as the System Assistant Director of Pharmacy at Cook County Health and Hospitals System and managed purchasing and inventory for the entire system.

His devotion to teaching was present throughout his career. In addition to teaching throughout health and hospital systems, he taught pharmacology at several universities in Indiana. Sylvester taught at Indiana University South Bend, Purdue North Central, Purdue Calumet, and Valparaiso University. He received numerous awards for teaching and was Professor of the Year at Purdue North Central on multiple occasions. Although Sylvester has many academic and professional accomplishments, they pale in comparison to the love that he had for his family.

Sylvester met Phyllis, his wife of 40 years, at Purdue University, West Lafayette. They became college sweethearts and frequently met in the library to help each other with homework. While in college, they enjoyed going to Purdue Boilermaker football games and taking long walks. Sylvester and Phyllis loved music and attended numerous concerts and movies together. Sylvester was always able to make Phyllis laugh with his good sense of humor. They were married in 1978 and their love was everlasting. Sylvester was Phyllis's rock. The couple's happiest moment arrived when they were blessed with their son, Sylvester Barnes, IV.

Sylvester was a hands-on, loving father and pop-pop, who had an extremely close bond with his family. Sylvester always made time for his son, encouraged his inquisitiveness, and loved teaching him about science from childhood and into adulthood. Sylvester helped to develop his son's love for science through frequent trips to the Museum of Science and Industry, science experiments with dry ice, and even a trip to a nuclear power plant. He frequently took his son to Mount Baldy Beach and enjoyed watching him roll down the hill. Sylvester cherished the time with his son and the discussions that they had no matter what the topic, from pharmacology, to medicine, to the latest science fiction shows or sports. When his son married Bertina, she became his daughter-in-love and Sylvester adored his grandson. After work, Sylvester loved chasing his grandson to play "Frankenstein" and crashing toy cars with him. He enjoyed having Sylvester IV, Bertina, and Sylvester V over for beef stew/pot roast dinners, Friday movie nights, and frequent mini-vacations. One of his most memorable vacations took place on Memorial Day Weekend of 2018. He traveled with his family to his hometown to show them where he grew up, where his grandmother lived, Barnes Park, and the Studebaker National Museum. Sylvester was happy and proud to share his childhood memories with his family.

He is survived by his wife Phyllis Anita Barnes, son Sylvester Barnes IV, MD, daughter-in-love Bertina Barnes, and grandson, Sylvester Barnes V. He also leaves behind 7 brothers and sisters: Kenneth (Lena) Barnes, Diane Marshall, Rickey (Beatrice) Barnes, Minister Tedario (The Reverend Linda) Barnes, Cynthia (Henry Davis) Barnes, Mairus Barnes, Beth Ann Schemenauer, and a host of loving aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, relatives, and dear friends.

The visitation will be held on Sunday, June 24, 2018 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Hultgren Funeral Home, 304 N. Main St., Wheaton, IL. The funeral service will be held on Monday, June 25, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at Gary United Methodist Church , 224 N. Main St., Wheaton, IL. Interment will follow at Wheaton Cemetery in Wheaton, Illinois.