Hugh R. Barnett, age 85, died Sunday, April 20, 2008, at his farm home near Brookings. Funeral Mass will be 10:30 A.M. Friday, April 25, 2008, at St. Thomas More Catholic Parish in Brookings, with interment and military rites at the church cemetery. Visitations will be from 3-7 P.M. Thursday at Eidsness Funeral Home in Brookings, with a prayer service at 7:00 P.M. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Barnett Scholarship at SDSU. Hugh Raymond Barnett was born April 21, 1922, at Brookings, South Dakota, to Ray E. and Mabel (Sweeney) Barnett. He attended country school and graduated from Brookings High School in 1940. He was active in FFA and 4-H. His college education was interrupted by World War II. He served as an officer and pilot of a C47 transport plane in the U.S. Army Air Corps in England, France, Brazil, and Hawaii. He returned to SDSU to complete a bachelors degree in Animal Husbandry in 1948, and went on to earn a masters degree in Swine Nutrition in 1951. On June 18, 1952, he married Rita Lyle at Elk Point, South Dakota. Hugh farmed in Brookings County all his life. He raised sheep for over 70 years, and was active in many FFA and 4-H sheep shows. He raised and sold potatoes from the farm for 40 years. He was the director for the North Central Wool Growers, a member of the South Dakota Sheep Breeders Association, and was involved in a ram test group sponsored by the SDSU Sheep Unit. He became a member of the 4-H Hall of Fame in 2002, and has been recognized with the Brookings County Good Neighbor Award, Friend of 4-H in Brookings County, and SDSU Family of the Year. While President of the South Dakota State FFA Association, he received the American Farmer Degree. He was named by SDSU as the South Dakota Eminent Farmer in 2007. He was a lifelong member of St. Thomas More Catholic Parish. Survivors include his wife, Rita Barnett, of Brookings; seven children: Gregory Barnett of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Mark (Debra) Barnett of Bellevue, Nebraska, Ann (Richard) Volin of Olathe, Kansas, Patrick (Kim) Barnett of Jackson, Minnesota, Jean Barnett of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Rosalie Barnett of Golden Valley, Minnesota, and Eileen (Jed) Skogerboe of Spirit Lake, Iowa; nine grandchildren: Ashley Barnett, Dan, Kate, and Andre Volin, Brooke and Tarah Larsen, and Olivia, Elizabeth, and Nile Skogerboe; a sister, Beth (Jean) Eckerman, of Mason City, Iowa; and a brother, Lawrence (Mary) Barnett, of Brookings. He was preceded in death by his parents; a son, James Barnett; and a grandson, Trevor Barnett.