E. Barry Topham

Our beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend, Earl Barry Topham, M.D., 78, died suddenly on September 21, 2020, having spent the previous few days in his beautiful yard in the Cottonwoods area of Holladay overseeing (and lending a hand with) cleanup of the recent storm damage to his woods.
Barry was born on January 4, 1942, in Salt Lake City, the third child of Earl Topham and Wilma Swapp Topham. The cost of his delivery was a quart jar of the then-new Jefferson head nickels that his parents had saved for the preceding 9 months—probably about $30 worth. Barry grew up in East Millcreek at a time when yards were large, neighbors were close friends, children (who roamed “free range” all summer long) were numerous, and the irrigation water (which came every 8 days) was how lawns got watered and the massive vegetable gardens were nurtured so that food was plentiful year round. Barry was smart and hard-working and so excelled in school. He also was a popular friend and great athlete, especially in baseball and basketball (his hook shot was unstoppable, and his jump shot deadly). He kept in touch with many friends from the Rosecrest Ward his entire life.
After graduating from Olympus High, he attended the University of Pennsylvania on a “full-ride” scholarship, but returned home a year later to complete his undergraduate degree at the “U.” The main reason for his return was to continue courting the love of his life, Patricia Lewis, whom he’d met on a blind date a few nights before he left for Penn. Barry and Trisha married on June 9, 1964 in the Salt Lake Temple and soon departed for Philadelphia where Barry attended medical school at Penn, graduating in 1968. Military service and a residency in dermatology followed. Barry, Trisha and their growing family returned to Utah in 1974 and have lived in Holladay since 1979.
In 1974 Barry, by then board certified in dermatology, established his Holladay Dermatology Clinic and recently marked 46 years in private practice, the last 22 in partnership with his son Rob. He loved his patients and they loved him; maybe too much, since 15 minute appointments often took 30 minutes due to all the “catching up.”
Barry was a life-long member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and appreciated his pioneer heritage. He served diligently in his Church callings. He also was very civic-minded, being the mastermind and a moving force behind the incorporation of Holladay—a 15-year effort that culminated in 1999. Barry served four years as a member of the Holladay city council and ran (unsuccessfully) for mayor. His vision of how the “Holladay Town Center” should be used was for several years at odds with that of the other councilmembers, but what is there today is what Barry envisioned and fought hard to achieve.
Barry loved his (almost) two acres in Holladay and spent countless hours of hard work transforming it into a verdant, perfectly ordered landscape with a lovely home. He kept busy with productive, useful projects such as antique restoration. He was loyal, thoughtful, kind and generous to his family, friends and patients, and always was ready to perform a “house call” or engage in a telephonic medical consultation if you weren’t feeling well. And Friday night dinners at La Frontera will never be the same without Barry and his endless Diet Cokes.
Barry was a devoted husband to Trisha and father to their six children, whom he loved greatly. He suffered tremendous personal losses with the tragedies affecting his beloved son Dan and daughter Susannah, and those close to Barry wondered how he bore up and carried on. We hope and believe, however, that he now is enjoying a wonderful reunion with those two children, his parents, and many relatives and friends.
Barry is survived by his wife, Trisha, children Robert, Jeff (Robyn), Melanie, and Alan (Whitney); ten grandchildren; brothers and sisters Kent (Janet), Jeralynn (Dave) Winder, Cheryl (Ron) Whiteside, and Shane (Becky); and numerous nieces and nephews, all of whom will miss Barry deeply. He was preceded in death by his parents and his children Dan and Susannah.
Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 26, in the yard of Barry’s home at 2520 Haven Lane, Holladay, UT. Friends may call Friday evening from 6 to 8 pm at the Memorial Holladay-Cottonwood Mortuary (4670 S. Highland Drive). Pandemic-related safeguards such as masks and social distancing will be observed at the viewing and funeral. The funeral service also will be live streamed via Zoom. See below for streaming instructions. Interment at the Holladay Cemetery.
Well done, Barry. You truly made a difference in this life.
 
Streaming of Funeral or Memorial Services

Joining by computer

Go to zoom.us in any internet browser
Click “join meeting”
Enter the meeting id – 8012624631
A box will open saying “https://zoom.us wants to open this application”. Click “open zoom”
Click “Join with Computer Audio”
Click “Mute” in the bottom left hand corner so that your audio does not interrupt the funeral services




Joining by phone or iPad

Download the Zoom app
Open the app and select “join a meeting”
Enter the meeting id – 8012624631
Select “join without video”
Select “Call using internet audio”
Select “mute” in the bottom left hand corner so that your audio does not interrupt the funeral services.
Service Information
Viewing September 25, 2020 at 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Memorial Holladay-Cottonwood Mortuary, 4670 South Highland Drive, Holladay, Utah





Funeral Service
September 26, 2020 at 1:00 PM
Topham Home, 2520 Haven Lane, Holladay, Utah