John William Barringer, accomplished businessman, and first president, CEO, and founding member of Cumberland Trust, died June 17, 2025, at the age of 85.
Johnny’s career was as dynamic as it was inspiring. After attending Vanderbilt and earning his law degree at the University of Memphis, he ventured into the cotton business, working as a Cotton Merchant for L.T. Barringer Cotton Co. and farming land in Mississippi. In 1982, he started his own cotton business, Barringer Cotton Co., and later helped launch Agricenter in Memphis, serving as its Chairman and President. He also ran a millwork business and co-founded the Agriculture Council of America in Washington, D.C.
During the Carter Administration, Johnny served on the President’s Export Council, representing agriculture and playing a key role in national export policy. He said that even through all the ventures, whether in cotton, finance, or everything in between, it was the people and purpose that made each chapter meaningful.
In 1990, Johnny was offered a new opportunity to join First Tennessee Bank as a Trust Officer. This led him and his wife, Betty Jane, to move to Nashville in 1994, where he eventually helped found Cumberland Trust and Investment Company in 2001 with four employees. The idea of Cumberland Trust was the result of his desire to provide personalized trust and estate administration to families, while allowing those families to retain their trusted financial advisors.
His foundational vision of high-touch service and flexibility in trust and estate administration propelled Cumberland Trust to where it is today—more than 140 employees, $10 billion in assets under administration, and eleven offices nationwide.
As Cumberland Trust’s first President and CEO, he focused on building relationships with estate planning attorneys, financial advisors, and accountants, working together in order to best serve mutual clients. He guided the company to extraordinary growth before stepping back due to health reasons, proudly serving as Vice Chairman until 2017. Throughout his career, he was known for his signature bow ties.
Johnny was a devoted husband, loving father and grandfather who lived an extraordinary life filled with adventure, hard work, and strength, both in character and physicality. He was married to his wife, Betty Jane, for 61 years. Together they raised two, as he would say, “perfect” children, Josephine (Jodie) and John Jr., and were blessed with four cherished grandchildren. If there was one thing about Johnny, he always put his family first. He was both a protector and peacekeeper.
In his free time, Johnny was an avid gardener, talented stone carver, and always working on some type of home or yard work project. While Johnny was proud of his work, he was most grateful for the life he built with Betty Jane, the friendships they made along the way, and the values they passed on to their family. In his own words: “We are very grateful for the life we have led and the friends we have made. God has been good to us.”
Johnny is survived by his devoted wife, Betty Jane Barringer; his son, John William Barringer Jr.; and his grandchildren, Libby Smith McLellan, Leila Barringer Smith, John William Barringer III, and Carly Michelle Barringer.
Cumberland Trust’s employees will remember Johnny for his corporate vision to provide exceptional, tailored, and client-focused trust and estate administration services, but also for his warm smile, fascinating storytelling, and sense of humor around the office.