Victor Warren Barfield

Victor Warren Barfield of Smithfield, formerly of Garner, died peacefully Friday, February 10, at the SECU Hospice House in Smithfield.

A visitation will be held at Bryan-Lee Funeral Home Thursday, February 16, 6-8 pm. A funeral will be held at Benson Baptist Church, 200 W. Church Street, Benson, on Friday, February 17, 11 am, with Rev. Dr. Lawrence Powers officiating. Burial will follow in Montlawn Cemetery in Raleigh.

The son of Micajah Bernice and Ethel Mae Wade Barfield, he was born in Wheat Swamp, Lenoir County, NC, November 12, 1928. He grew up on a small tobacco farm during the Great Depression with two sisters—Ellen and Velma—and five brothers—Norman, Owen, Earl, Bruce, and Melvin (M.C.)—all of whom predeceased him. Their father modeled sterling Christian principles, sound farm management practices, and a willingness to try new things--qualities that guided Vic’s life and made him successful in everything he touched.

His four older brothers served in the military overseas during World War II, and Vic helped his Papa run the farm and a country store near their home. Three of the four returned home. Norman was killed in battle, leaving a wife and two little girls behind. That loss was felt acutely throughout his life.

Vic graduated from Wheat Swamp High School in 1945 and at age 16 attended King’s Business College in Raleigh, where he studied accounting. At age 17 he joined the U.S. Army. His brother Owen had taught him how to march while home on furlough, and with his accounting background he quickly worked his way up the ranks to sergeant. When he graduated from officers’ training school at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, General Dwight D. Eisenhower personally presented his diploma. He attended Duke University 1948-1952, supporting himself by selling sandwiches and delivering laundry. He was one of the first cadets in Duke’s Air Force ROTC and after graduation was offered a post at Stallings Air Field in Kinston. It was there he met his future wife, Raleigh native Carolyn Clement.

Vic and Carolyn married in 1954 and eventually relocated to Raleigh, where Vic was hired as an auditor for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction in 1957. In 1960 he became budget officer for the state’s Department of Conservation and Development. He was promoted to assistant to the director in 1967 and deputy director in 1969. When the agency was reorganized as the Department of Natural and Economic Resources in 1971, he was named Deputy Secretary. Further reorganization during the Holshouser administration resulted in the creation of the Department of Commerce, where he was Deputy Secretary until 1984. He traveled across the globe to promote the state and to recruit new business investment. His energy, organization, and winning personality earned him respect and influence across the state. A News and Observer editorial on October 16, 1984, characterized him as a “model of a thoroughly professional civil servant” and one who brought “honor to the term ‘bureaucrat.’”

At the behest of Governor Jim Hunt, Vic took over operations of FIAC (Financial Institutions Assurance Corporation), a private insurer of about 60 credit unions and savings and loan institutions in North Carolina and beyond. A national savings and loan crisis that began in Ohio forced such institutions to shift to federal insurance, so Vic’s main job was closing out FIAC and refunding depositors. He far exceeded their expectations. In the late 1980s Vic began a consulting firm, Barfield and Associates, and worked as a lobbyist for organizations seeking federal funds. He was especially grateful for the work he did to secure federal funds for the University of Montana. From 1993 to 1995 he was chief of staff for U.S. Senator D. M. “Lauch” Faircloth, former NC Secretary of Commerce. In the late 1960s, he joined Lee Hopper as part-owner and bookkeeper of Hopper Piano and Organ Company, and he kept an office there until age 90.

Vic’s wife Carolyn died in 2008, and he renewed acquaintance with his high school sweetheart, Marjorie Williams Wooten of Kinston. They married in 2009 and lived in Garner for ten years until her death in 2020. He made his home in Smithfield with daughter Donna Johnson since that time.

He lived in Garner most of his adult life and was a longtime member of First Baptist Church, where he was a deacon and Sunday School teacher. He was a former Mason. Vic was an avid Duke fan and enjoyed golf and gardening.

He is survived by four children: sons Buddy Barfield (wife Deborah) of Clayton; David Barfield (wife Angelica) of Catawba, Virginia; Greg Barfield of Raleigh; and daughter Donna Johnson (husband Todd) of Smithfield; three grandchildren, Abby Johnson (boyfriend Jay Glover) of Cary, Cliff Johnson (girlfriend Siobhan Brennan) of Raleigh, and Kevin Johnson (wife Samantha) of Davenport, Florida; sister-in-law Dolores Clement Young of Lake Havasu, Arizona; step sons Sonny Wooten (wife Connie) of Dunwoody, Georgia, and David Wooten (wife Rita) of Kinston; step grandchildren Joe Wooten of New Bern, and Lara Oldenburg (husband J.B.) of New Rochelle, New York; and two step great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to the charity of one’s choice are encouraged.