R.I.P.: Brother Bob, Danville VA Radio Host

Brother Bob Barber Jr.

The Rev. R.J. Barber Jr. — the iconic voice of “Tabernacle Time” heard by generations of radio listeners in Southside Virginia — died Saturday.

He was 90 years old., according to godanriver.com.

Known simply as “Brother Bob,” his powerful voice delivered inspirational messages to a radio audience five days a week for 57 years.

His show, “Tabernacle Time,” is known as the oldest daily religious broadcast in the nation.

WAKG 103.3 FM, the Danville-based country radio station that airs the 10-minute segment, first announced Barber’s death Saturday afternoon. Alex Vardavas, a long-time radio personality and program director at WBTM 1330 AM, a sister station to WAKG, confirmed Barber’s death to the Register & Bee.

“He was a very special man, very benevolent, very philanthropic,” said Vardavas. “He will be absolutely and sorely missed.”

Barber’s father, the Rev. R.J. Barber Sr., launched the “Tabernacle Time” radio broadcast in 1932 on WBTM.

“Dad was on the radio 30 years before me,” Barber said in a 2016 interview for SoVa Living, a Register & Bee magazine. “He came to Danville and organized the Baptist Tabernacle in 1932 — a little church on East Thomas Street before the big brick one was there.”

After 10 years, the broadcast moved to WDVA where it continued for 22 years before finding its long-time home on WAKG.

With WAKG’s reach far beyond the borders of Danville and Pittsylvania County, thousands throughout Southside Virginia grew up listening to the morning inspirational messages of “Brother Bob.”