Life story

" John Barry Nienstadt transitioned peacefully at age 73 on October 27, 2024, with family and friends by his side in Colorado. Barry leaves a phenomenal legacy. He was a beacon of light, a fearless life explorer, a peace activist, a professional storyteller, a humorist, a mystic, an advocate for underprivileged communities, a lover of the earth, a poet, and a healer. Barry was a wild spark who knew no edges.
Born on a military base in Germany in 1951, Barry’s activism came alive when his family moved to San Francisco in the late 60’s. Barry would tell of standing on the cafeteria table at his high school, fist in the air, protesting against the Vietnam War. In the 1970’s, Barry and his family moved to Minneapolis where his activist efforts continued. He joined a work collective which organized a non-profit to train women to work on cars, he then helped organize the East Seventh Street Food Coop, and later became a Union Steward, advocating for better working conditions at the Honeywell plant.
In 1985 Barry became a Social Worker and continued his activist work by advocating for the mentally ill. He designed innovative programs for adults with mental illness, like the drop-in center Friends Program, where he organized the Black Swan Players, a theater company comprised of people with mental illness. Their first theater production was called “Open Your Mouth and Say Ha,” a satirical piece that explored the healing effects of humor. Barry, always a performer, starred as Dr. Gesundheit.
Barry spent much of his career working at Hennepin County in the Adolescent Social Work Unit where the impact of his work will be felt for generations.  Colleague,  Mary Pat Sigurdson shares, “Barry was a tireless advocate for the young families he served, nurturing the promise of their individual self-agency while holding the institutions that so often failed them to account. In every sense, he was the very best kind of disrupter; driven by an unflinching belief in the beauty and power of each person and a deep intolerance for bureaucratic ignorance and indifference. Barry worked from within to create change. He was a master collaborator and community organizer. Never one to stay in his lane, Barry sought to align governmental agencies, schools, and community nonprofits to create networks of change for young parents and their children. He was a trusted mentor to legions of coworkers whose work was forever changed by his example and capacity to struggle against injustice and compassionately challenge individual complacency.”
Jo Daggett, a colleague adds: “Barry was as real as it gets. He lived in and for community, and his students felt that deeply. It made him a magnet, able to touch the lives of young women with no reason to trust;  his work left the bounds of traditional social work to become a manifestation of radical love. He pursued justice in the deepest sense, fighting hard against systems of oppression while refusing to lose his belief in the goodness of humanity. He was a brother, a friend, a fierce advocate, a mentor, and a guide. He was my Jedi master.  His work and his words live on in the souls of many of us. He will continue to shine brightly through us.” In 2012 Barry was awarded the Hennepin County Star Performer Community Engagement Award in recognition of his tireless efforts.
Outside of his career and activism, Barry devoted his life to spiritual study and sharing his wisdom through storytelling. Barry relished in poetry and loved finding “the sweet nectar” in all spiritual traditions. His devotion to spiritual work, paired with his passionate activism, touched the lives of all who knew him. Barry was a true anam cara, a Gaelic term in the Celtic tradition meaning soul friend. The great Irish poet and philosopher John O’Donohue writes, “With the anam cara you could share your inner-most self, your mind and your heart. This friendship was an act of recognition and belonging.” This was Barry. 
Barry’s transition was preceded by that of his parents, Mary Catherine Barry and Jack Nienstadt. Barry is survived by spouse Carla Vogel, siblings, Yvonne Nienstadt, Denise Bobst, Maureen Younkin, Brian Nienstadt, many nieces and nephews, Goddaughter Ellen Geis and a “beautiful bouquet” of soul friends. Thank you to Barry’s healing companions Dave Yetter, Dr. Michael Leins and Jamie Woody.
Donations welcome in Barry’s honor to: Friends of the Mississippi River.
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