Barngrover earned four letters each in football, basketball and tennis at McPherson College. He was a team captain and all-KCAC performer in both football and basketball. After his time at McPherson,  Barngrover served in the United States Navy during World War II. He also served as a teacher and coach in Kansas for a time before eventually settling in Yakima, Washington, where he taught industrial arts and math for 28 years before retiring in 1976.

Barngrover was an active volunteer at the Yakima Valley Museum and was an elder at First Presbyterian Church in Yakima. He and his wife, Aileen, were charter members of Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Mr. Barngrover passed away on Sept, 9, 1999, at the age of 83.