It’s quite a phenomenon, the way a smile lights up the face of anyone you might ask about Barry Webb.

Following that smile, you will hear words like upbeat, happy, great, wonderful and irreplaceable. Barry is, after all, Polson’s most well-known resident.

Born here in 1940, Barry attended Polson schools and now lives on 7th Avenue.

For as long as most people can remember, Barry has made a daily route through  town, stopping throughout his walk to chat and catch up on the day. Some of his mainstay stops include the Polson Senior Citizen’s Center, where he eats lunch daily, Jackie M’s Footwear, Pier 93, Beacon Tire Center, 93 Auto Care and the Polson City Library, where he reads the newspaper.

Even if you haven’t met Barry, you’ve probably seen him directing traffic, at church, at the movies (after a strawberry milkshake) or at any and every Polson sporting event. His infectious enthusiasm for all these things, along with his waves and perpetual smile, have made him not just the most well-known resident, but more importantly, the most well-loved.

He first stopped at Jackie M’s 12 years ago.

“I guess we just hit it off. He has just been in our store every day since. He knew he was always welcome,” owner Jackie Cripe said. “He’s just Polson. You know, he’s just a mainstay of our community. He’s just a great person.”

This pair of Polson sidewalks’ most familiar feet have been slowed recently after Barry was diagnosed with lymphoma. Barry is no longer able to make his rounds because it’s too dangerous. He has lost weight and some of his energy, forcing him into a wheelchair. His sister, Charlotte, is staying with him now.

On Saturday, he didn’t quite make it to his usual seat high in the bleachers for the Polson High School basketball games. But he was front and center as Steve Nelson read a tribute to Barry. Boys’ basketball team members Derrick Rathe and Kyle Bagnell then presented him with a “No. 1 fan” plaque and Pirate sweatshirt. 

Embarrassed at first by the attention, Barry accepted the gifts and gave the crowd his signature salute and — you guessed it — smiled.

His spirit is indomitable.

“Deb, the dreaded ‘G’ word!” Barry will say to Debi Gafford when he visits 93 Auto Care on his walks.

“That is his code word for cottage cheese,” Gafford said. Barry always makes sure she knows when the “dreaded ‘G’” is on the menu at the senior center. Neither of them like it.

“How’s your crazy hubby?” Barry often asks Beacon Tire employee Diana Buchmann as he pulls up a chair next to her desk to chat.

Sometimes he’ll yell at Buchmann from across the street when the door is open.

“Of course I’d have to yell back,” she said.

At the senior center last week, Barry was discussing the day’s news with the normal morning crew. They get together every morning to solve the world’s problems over coffee. Lunch follows.

Anyone who walks by  the center or most any other place, Barry can name them. “Oh, Jo,” he says to his friend, Jo Durand.

His remarkable memory allows him to recall the names of most people from the past: Teachers who taught him decades ago and classmates from years gone by.

Senior center cook Wanda Burland has been putting up with Barry’s antics for 16 years.

“I can’t imagine life without him,” Burland said. “He’s just a wonderful person.”

Another thing Barry never forgets is who, or who isn’t, in church on Sundays. Kaye Stam, who knows Barry from the senior center, said she’s been scolded more than once for missing a service.

For the first time in years, Barry was not at the Presbyterian Church of Polson last Sunday to ring the bell and put out the candles after the service. 

But for all the ways the lymphoma has slowed him, Barry has never lost his special gift for spreading cheer. He wakes up every day happy.

Janet Giffin credits Barry with a life saving act years ago when he found and helped her elderly father, Leonard Graves, up after Graves had fallen while gardening.

“I have always, always had kind thoughts for Barry, I don’t know how long my dad would have laid out in the garden [if not for Barry],” Giffin said. “He’s always happy, if you’re down in the dumps and you meet Barry, you’re going to be better off after you talked to him.”

She’s right. Talking about how Barry has touched their lives brings tears to the eyes of many. 

But what they remember first, and what they will never forget, always comes back to that smile.

*Do you have a favorite story about Barry? Share it with us: editor@leaderadvertiser.com.