Mr de Geest, the oldest thalidomide survivor in New Zealand, was named a Companion of the King’s Service Order in the New Years Honours for his 40 years of advocacy.
Mr de Geest said he was "shocked" to learn of the honour.
But he took it as recognition of the many disabled advocates he had worked with along the way.
Thalidomide — a drug introduced in the 1950s to treat morning sickness — was taken just twice by his mother Anne early in her pregnancy.
When he was born at the old Oamaru Hospital in 1960 with no arms and short legs, there was immediate pressure to banish baby Barry into institutional care.
"Mum was told to send me up to the Sisters of Mercy and ‘go away and have another baby’," Mr de Geest said.
His mother did not bow down: she took Barry home and "tried her hardest" to ensure as normal a life as possible.
"Mum really was the stalwart."
Mr de Geest said seminal events in his Oamaru upbringing helped his agency emerge to work for others.
At 14 he was embraced by the Oamaru Rowing Club as a cockswain.
It helped him "discover another world" and as a pivotal team member over four years there were no excuses for his physical capacity.
"I was a bit short but fitted in the boat perfectly," he said.
"A lot of disabled people are treated differently from able-bodied kids — their whole world revolves around the disability — whereas in rowing context everybody treated you like everyone else.
"It made me realise there was more to life than me."
The teenager still found pressure, though, to live within a limited world.
A turning point at 18 was his rejection of an after-school programme for those with disabilities where he encountered a limiting outlook in activities like basket weaving.
"It was depressing. For me it was saying ‘these people have no value in life’."
And a destiny dawned on Mr de Geest one day as he pondered life while at St Kevin’s College.
"I thought, I can speak — I have a voice and can make use of that voice for others."
This has been a constant drive ever since, he told the Oamaru Mail.
"We still haven’t achieved normality for disabled people — it still hasn’t happened, although a lot has changed.
"But it’s still not at the point where disabled people are treated like everyone else."
Mr de Geest left North Otago at 20 and has resided in the North Island where he had a family and has worked tirelessly for others.
He co-founded the Renaissance Group in 2001 — now one of the largest supported independent living providers in New Zealand.
Since 2019 he has chaired Kaikaranga Holdings, the largest Needs Assessment Service Co-ordination service in New Zealand.
He has also been the co-chairman of Auckland Council’s Disability Advisory Panel since 2023 and a member of the transformation management board for the newly established Ministry of Disabled People.
He has also been the disability adviser to the health advisory committee secretariat and Ministry of Health, chief executive of the Manawatū CCS Disability Action branch and the Wellington Disability Resource Centre, and former chairman of the New Zealand Powerchair Football Association.
