12/22/2025
In memoriam—John Barnes, PT, 1939–2025
When I relocated to Philadelphia in 1983, I loved cranial work and sought out other like-minded souls in the Delaware Valley. John Barnes was the only person aware of cranial work at that time.
We became fast friends, and I worked as a TMJ/cranial doctor in his office for ten years. He was kind enough to let me take his seminars, and I have always been grateful to have learned from the Master.
John was my last periodontal patient before I left dentistry in 1997. We did a lot of things together, and I will miss my friend.
To say that John was a legend or an icon does not quite make the grade in my mind. He touched so many people and changed so many lives that we cannot really quantify his influence. From my perspective, for every patient who ever receives the Gillespie Approach now or in the future, John has a hand in it.
—Dr. Barry Gillespie
