It is with great heaviness of heart that we announce the passing of Marvin Mikel "Mike" Barnwell of San Leon, Texas. He lost his twenty-three-year battle with cancer on October 9, 2025, while hospitalized in Webster, Texas.

Mike was born in Aransas Pass, Texas, on August 12, 1940. He grew up in Hawkins, Texas, where he graduated from high school in 1958 as class salutatorian. He furthered his education at Tyler Junior College and Texas Tech University. Before transferring to North Texas State University, he joined the U.S. Coast Guard, serving one year of active duty and subsequent years as a reservist. He earned a B.A. in Business and Finance from NTSU in 1964. While attending NTSU, Mike met and later married Judith Ann Patterson, his wife of sixty years. They had two children, Ginger Diane and Scott Mikel.

He began his official career in banking at Oak Cliff Bank & Trust in Dallas, Texas. In 1966, they moved to Alvin, Texas, where he was an officer at Alvin State Bank, owned by Walter G. Hall. In 1972, Mike was transferred to another of Mr. Hall's banks, League City State Bank, and they moved to League City. During his time at the League City State Bank, he earned his M.B.A. from Pepperdine University.

Mike continued his banking career with Allied Bank in Houston and later at Allied Bank in Port Arthur. He left Port Arthur to start a savings and loan office in Dallas, and the family moved to Southlake, Texas, in 1984, where they lived until 1986, when he returned to the Gulf Coast to join Columbia Savings & Loan in Webster. The family relocated from Dallas to Friendswood, Texas, where both children graduated from high school. In 1991, they built a home on Galveston Bay in San Leon, where they have lived for thirty-four years.

When Mike transitioned from the banking and savings and loan industries, he explored various careers. He initially owned a dirt yard with his son, Scott, and then he returned to the corporate world to work as the finance officer for a waste disposal company. Lastly, Mike spent many years in home construction after he established his own company, OneStop Home Repair & Service, where he worked until his death on October 9, 2025. The construction and remodeling business was challenging and interesting, but his favorite part was his interactions with clients and co-workers. One of Mike's greatest assets was his ability to serve others and build bridges between people who otherwise might not have been successful at interacting with one another. Operating OneStop yielded Mike numerable rewarding relationships and friendships.

Throughout his life, Mike loved fishing and duck hunting. He had a great affection for hunting dogs and owned two black labs and three Vizslas—Hungarian hunting

dogs. All were integral members of the family and great sources of joy for Mike. Additionally, he was an avid sports enthusiast and a trove of sports trivia. He loved living on Galveston Bay for the final thirty-four years of his life, where he enjoyed countless times of leisure and relaxation.

The family always belonged to and were active in a local Baptist church wherever they lived. After the move to San Leon in 1991, the family joined Sagemont Church in Houston, where they maintain a membership. Mike was ordained a Deacon there on April 2, 2000, and served as Chairman for one year, a great and humbling honor for him.

Mike lived a long life—always with a "glass-is-half-full" attitude. His eighty-five years were filled with gratitude for all God's provisions and guidance. He never vacillated in his belief that God was a wise and faithful Father. As his days dwindled, Mike blessedly knew that God had prepared a mansion in heaven just for him solely because he had placed his trust in God's Son, Jesus Christ, at age seven. He never wavered from that faith, and in his last days, he so looked forward to leaving an ailing body to gaze into Jesus' glorious face when He welcomed Mike into His loving arms.

He is survived by his wife of sixty years, Judith A. Barnwell, and their two children and three grandsons. His daughter, Ginger Diane Messer, her husband, Chrisopher Taylor Messer, and their children, William Mikel Messer, and Colton Taylor Messer reside in Houston. His son, Scott Mikel Barnwell, and his son, Mikel Scott Barnwell, reside in San Leon.

Mike's memorial service will be on Thursday, November 6, 2025, in the main Chapel at Sagemont Church at 11300 S. Sam Houston Pkwy. E., Houston, Texas.  Visitation is at 1:00 PM and will be followed by the memorial service at 2:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, Mike would be gratified that any remembrances of his life would be marked by donations to his beloved Sagemont Church.