Jim Barringer: The Remarkable Life of Joyce Maynard’s Late Husband

Jim Barringer was a California attorney best known to a wider audience as the late husband of American author Joyce Maynard. He was not a conventional celebrity and did not build a public career in entertainment. Interest in his name comes mainly from Maynard’s writing about their relationship, particularly her 2017 memoir, The Best of Us, which records their later-in-life romance, marriage and experience of facing his illness together.

One point needs correcting at the beginning. Some readers search for Jim Barringer as “Joyce Maynard’s ex-husband,” but that description is inaccurate. Barringer and Maynard remained married until his death from pancreatic cancer in June 2016. The accurate term is Joyce Maynard’s late husband. Their public story is not about divorce or separation, but a marriage cut short by illness.

Quick Bio

Field	Details

Full Name

James A. Barringer, commonly known as Jim Barringer

Known For

California attorney and the late husband of author Joyce Maynard

Profession/Public Role

Trial attorney whose practice included estate and trust litigation

Nationality

American

Family/Relationship Connection

Married Joyce Maynard in 2013 and remained her husband until his death in 2016

Public Profile

A respected lawyer whose life became more widely known through Maynard’s memoir The Best of Us

Latest Known Information

He died on June 16, 2016; his relationship with Maynard continues to be discussed through her memoir and interviews

Who Was Jim Barringer?

James A. Barringer was born on June 12, 1952, in Cincinnati, Ohio. His family moved to Los Angeles when he was young, and California became central to his education, legal career and personal interests. Public accounts describe him as intellectually curious and deeply interested in the outdoors, music, photography, and the cultural life of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Barringer attended UCLA before completing his bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1974. He earned his law degree from the institution then known as UC Hastings College of the Law in 1977, where he served as a managing editor of the law review. His professional identity was substantial in its own right, even though most online searches frame him through his marriage.

Why Is Jim Barringer Publicly Searched?

Barringer is searched because Joyce Maynard wrote openly about finding love with him in her late fifties and losing him only a few years later. Maynard had already spent decades in public life as a novelist, memoirist and journalist. Her books include To Die For and Labour Day, both adapted for film, as well as the memoir At Home in the World. When she published The Best of Us in 2017, Barringer became central to one of her most personal works.

The interest is therefore literary and biographical rather than celebrity-driven. Readers often encounter his name after reading about Maynard’s life or the background to The Best of Us. Search results sometimes use “Joyce Maynard’s ex-husband,” but the public record shows that Barringer was her second and late husband.

Jim Barringer and Joyce Maynard

Barringer and Maynard met online in 2011, when both were in their late fifties and had been divorced for many years. Maynard later described him as the first true partner she had known. Both had established professional lives and grown children before meeting.

They married in New Hampshire in July 2013, surrounded by family and friends. Accounts of their time together emphasise travel, music, outdoor adventures and a willingness to build a new life at an age when both had assumed they would not marry again. Maynard has described riding with him on his motorcycle and travelling with him in the United States and abroad.

Soon after their first wedding anniversary, Barringer was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The couple faced the illness for approximately nineteen months. He died at their home in Lafayette, California, on June 16, 2016, four days after his sixty-fourth birthday. Maynard’s later writing focused on partnership, caregiving and the way the relationship changed her understanding of marriage.

Career, Legal Work and Public Role

Barringer spent much of his legal career in estate and trust litigation. He formed the firm Lagarias, Barringer and Foley and later practiced with attorney Noël Margaret Lawrence. Contemporary coverage described him as a San Francisco trial attorney with a strong commitment to the law.

His professional record should not be inflated into celebrity status, but it should not be reduced to a footnote in Maynard’s biography either. Barringer had a long legal career before meeting her. The available public record presents him as a serious advocate and valued colleague.

There are no reliable public figures for his salary, personal fortune or net worth. Celebrity pages sometimes attach estimates to anyone connected with a known figure, but doing so here would be misleading. His career is documented; his private finances are not.

Interests Beyond His Legal Career

Public tributes describe Barringer as an outdoors enthusiast who enjoyed running, cycling, skiing and hiking. He was also a committed photographer, particularly interested in California landscapes. Music formed another part of his life: he played bass in informal bands that included fellow lawyers and other musicians.

He took an active interest in museums, sports, politics and civic life. Contemporary obituary coverage reported that even during the final stage of his illness, he continued attending cultural and sporting events when able. These details help explain why Maynard’s portrait of him extends beyond illness: his identity included work, art, nature, friendship and public affairs.

What Is Publicly Confirmed?

Barringer was an American attorney educated at UC Santa Barbara and UC Hastings. His legal practice included estate and trust disputes. He met Joyce Maynard in 2011, married her in 2013 and remained married to her until he died in 2016. Public obituary coverage also confirms that he had three children from an earlier marriage.

It is confirmed that he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and lived with the disease for around nineteen months. Maynard made their experience the subject of The Best of Us, published by Bloomsbury in 2017. The memoir is the main reason his story remains visible beyond legal and Bay Area circles.

What Remains Private?

Barringer did not maintain the kind of public profile that supports endless biographical detail. Information about his private finances, exact earnings, family relationships and other personal matters should not be guessed. No trustworthy source establishes a celebrity-style net worth.

The same restraint should apply to his children and extended family. Their names have appeared in obituary coverage, but that does not make their private lives part of a celebrity story. A responsible profile can acknowledge that he was a father without turning relatives into public figures.

Latest Public Information

As of July 2026, the established public account of Barringer has not materially changed. Jim Barringer died in 2016, and the best-known published account of his relationship with Maynard remains her memoir The Best of Us. Maynard’s official website still lists the memoir among her major books, while publisher descriptions present it as the story of a later-in-life partnership tested by serious illness.

There are no verified recent developments involving Barringer himself. New mentions are generally connected to Maynard’s work, interviews about grief and resilience, or readers discovering the memoir. Claims of current activity or a recent professional role would likely confuse him with another person.

You May Also Read: Jennifer Quanz: The Honest Story of Her Acting Career and Marriage to Wes Bentley

(FAQs)

Was Jim Barringer Joyce Maynard’s ex-husband?

No. That is a common but inaccurate search phrase. He was Joyce Maynard’s late husband. They remained married until his death in June 2016.

What did Jim Barringer do for a living?

Jim Barringer was a California trial attorney. Much of his legal practice involved estate and trust litigation in the San Francisco Bay Area.

When did Jim Barringer marry Joyce Maynard?

Barringer and Maynard married in July 2013 in New Hampshire after meeting online in 2011.

Did Jim Barringer have children?

Yes. Public obituary accounts confirm that he had three children from his first marriage. Maynard also had three adult children from her earlier marriage.

How did Jim Barringer die?

Jim Barringer died from pancreatic cance on June 16, 2016, at his home in Lafayette, California, after living with the illness for about nineteen months.

Why did Joyce Maynard write about Jim Barringer?

Maynard wrote The Best of Us to tell the story of their relationship, marriage, his illness and her experience of love, caregiving and grief. The memoir was published in 2017.

Final Thoughts

Jim Barringer is best understood as a respected attorney and private individual whose story entered public view through his marriage to Joyce Maynard. Calling him “Joyce Maynard’s ex-husband” misrepresents the confirmed history. He was her late husband, and their marriage ended because of his death, not divorce.

His public legacy combines a long California legal career with the personal portrait preserved in The Best of Us. The confirmed record shows a lawyer, father, photographer, musician and outdoor enthusiast who found a meaningful partnership later in life. A trustworthy account does not need invented wealth figures, gossip or unsupported family details. The facts are already clear: Jim Barringer lived an accomplished professional life and became remembered by a wider audience through Maynard’s account of love and loss.