George Barber Jr., the former owner of Barber’s Dairy and founder of the Barber Motorsports Park near Leeds, died Monday at age 85.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of George Barber,” Barber Vintage Motorsports said in a social media post. “He built more than an organization – he built a community. We are grateful for his vision and leadership, and we will share additional information in the days ahead.”
A Birmingham native and Auburn University graduate, Barber was chairman of the Barber Companies, which includes Alabama real estate developments from Birmingham to a world-class marina in Baldwin County.
Barber owned and was chair of Barber Dairies from 1970 until the company was sold to Dean Foods in 1998.
A lifelong passion for motorsports led to Barber’s creation of the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum and the 880-acre Barber Motorsports Park, which includes a world-class racetrack.
Barber cast a wide philanthropic net, endowing more than 500 scholarships, funding academic chairs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and supporting the Birmingham Museum of Art, McWane Science Center and the Nature Conservancy, among others. A co-founder of Sipsey Wilderness, Barber was named Alabama Wildlife Federation’s Conservationist of the Year.
In 2025, Business Alabama awarded Barber a lifetime achievement award at the Business Alabama Awards.
