Barry Michael Courteau, 37, passed away on Feb. 27, after losing a long battle with depression.
Barry was born July 10th, 1984, son of Kathy Courteau. Barry grew up in and around Brookings, SD, and graduated from Brookings High School in 2003.
As a teen, in addition to living with his mom, Barry spent several years living with his second family: the Froning/Egeberg family; Lori, Aaron, Mark, Justin, and Jody. There he could be found wrestling with Justin and teasing his little “sister” Jody.
Barry was known for buying vehicles and installing the loudest possible exhaust on them. If it didn’t sound like an F-16 fighter jet, it was not loud enough. When he bought a new vehicle, he had an appointment at an exhaust shop before the papers were signed. He loved tinkering on everything he owned and always worked hard to make it one-of-a-kind, sometimes obnoxiously so.
Many of his days, Barry could be found at Sound Sensations in Brookings, SD, building stereos with his dear friend Rob Whitaker. There was no stereo too big or too loud for Barry, and if he was told it couldn’t be built, he would build it, even if it meant cutting the back out of the cab of his pick-up. His passion and knowledge for building and installing stereos was truly a gift.
When he wasn’t spending sleepless nights working on a sound system, he could be found 4-wheeling, tinkering on RC cars, or just dinking around with his life-long friend Mike Gunderson and long-time friend Shelly Gunderson, whom he was living with at the time of his passing.
Barry always had a love of off-roading, and in typical Barry fashion, the faster and louder the better. He could be found romping around in anything from a ‘70s Chevy Blazer with a kitchen chair for a seat to his Can am Maverick X3 DS-Turbo RR.
One of his favorite things to do was take his friends for rides in his side-x-side and watch them squirm and giggle as he terrified them with the power.
Barry didn’t limit himself to four wheels ,though. He could also be spotted riding his custom motorcycle around Brookings or cruising to Minnesota on it.
To fund his hobbies, Barry spent his time working at 3M producing medical supplies. He was proud of his work and made it a place of laughter and fun, according all his coworkers.
Barry brought light into the lives of many people and leaves behind friends he considered family in the absence of his own, including Kevin (Julie) Gunderson of Volga, SD; Pam Schuck of Shawnee, KS; Mike and Shelly Gunderson of Aurora, SD; Ann Widmark of Brookings, SD; Tia Salamone of Ghent, MN; Rob (KaCey) Whitaker of Brookings, SD; Paul and Jennifer McKinstry of Harrisburg; and TJ Aulner of Sioux Falls, SD, among many others.
Barry is preceded in death by his mother, Kathy Courteau, and his grandfather, Gerald Courteau.
