January 9th, 2026, at 6 pm, my dad, John Barlau (or JB, known to MANY), was found unresponsive at his work. After failing to respond to family members trying to get ahold of him, his son-in-law went to check on him and found him to be unresponsive in his office chair. 911 was immediately called, and EMS, fire trucks, and police all showed up.

Family was told, and we all immediately drove there. They were still attempting CPR by the time we arrived. His wife, oldest daughter (me) & fiancé, oldest son & wife, and mother-in-law were all there when they stopped doing CPR and said they were sad to say he did not survive and has passed away.

We do not know if it was a heart attack, he just stopped breathing, or something else, but they are still trying to figure out what happened.

My dad was going to be turning 60 this year, way too young!! He would still help take care of his elderly mother, who he leaves behind, along with many other family members, including a wife, 7 children - two of whom are still young & the youngest has a birthday in 2 weeks, and 3 grandchildren (all 3 and under).

He was self-employed and was the owner and only worker at his shop, JB Auto Repair in Anoka, where he has had his business for 30+ years.

He was the primary financial supporter for his family, and now his wife is left not only with the devastating situation that he is gone but to wonder how she is going to survive. While his wife does work, it does not bring in a lot of income to cover the expenses.

How is she going to pay for a funeral? How is she going to put food on the table and pay the mortgage, let alone any other bills they had?

How is she supposed to handle this herself and also help her two younger daughters deal with the fact their dad is not around and be out of work and not get paid or try to work and still navigate it all?

His wife does not have access to his business accounts right now, and they have $35 in their joint account.

How are we supposed to give him a funeral?

I am creating this GoFundMe for my family to help in this unimaginable time to help in some way. To help give my dad a funeral, to help make sure they don't lose the house, and they have food. He was the one to take care of most of it and now he isnt here.

I can't even express how much this HURTS, and I don't like asking for help, but I don't know what else to do.

My dad was loved by many, and I am hoping that at this time, even if it is just a small amount, those people whose lives have been touched by him can help his family in this time of need.

You can also reach out to me personally if you would like to contribute something outside of go-fund me.

We found out the funeral service itself was $10,000 to the funeral home. And this was the cheaper side. The cost of the celebration of life still to add and then everything that comes with it and the cost of an obituary is outrageous being qouted (for each paper) $800 -$1800 depending on which paper you want it in and how much you wanted included. I never new funerals would be so spendy.