Mary Anne Campbell Barker

Born in Temple, TX April 2, 1921, Mary Anne Campbell was the first daughter of Lorena Nash and Raymond Campbell. Reared in Dallas, she was the middle child in a tight-knit, loving “One for All and All for One” family. A descendant of Texas pioneers, her grandfather, Thomas F. Nash, was Dallas County Judge. Dr. George W. Truett baptized her in the 1930s at Dallas’ First Baptist Church.

Mary Anne attended Vickery Place School where her character displayed itself early. One day she came home from school starving. When her mother asked why she hadn’t eaten lunch at school, Mary Anne said her friend told her that her mother had died, and she didn’t know what to do other than give her friend all her lunch money.

Mary Anne was a 1939 honor graduate of North Dallas High School where she was a member of the National Honor Society and won the Everts Award and the Linz Pin four consecutive years. She attended SMU and Metropolitan Business College before she married Billie Harrison Barker in 1941.

The couple and their three children, Barry, Suzie, and Bill, all born just before and during World War II, moved to Abilene in 1949. There Mary Anne was a stay-at-home mother and later, a prized employee of Wooten Grocery Company, Stanolind Oil and Gas Company, and Citizens National Bank. In 1959, she started her second tour of duty as a working mom when her last child, Libby, was born. She ended her career at the bank where she worked for 25 years in the loan department, retiring in 1986.

From 1980 to 1989, Mary Anne cared for her mother in her home until her death 8 days before her 100th birthday. She was active for 61 years at Abilene’s First Baptist Church where she served in many positions including on the Finance Committee.

In 1998, Mary Anne and her younger sister, Dorothy Campbell, began travelling the world together. In 2010 “Dot” and Mary Anne moved to Dallas to live with her daughter Suzanne. She became a member of Park Cities Baptist Church, the Rejebian Book Club, and the North Dallas High School Alumni Association. She was likely the last living member of the North Dallas Class of 1939.

Mary Anne was devoted to her family over her very long life. She made friends of all ages and kept them. She was dedicated to her church, her work and was a faithful citizen. She was a lifelong beauty who was a vibrant presence wherever she was. Her vivaciousness was a hallmark of why so many loved her.

And though she didn’t like to talk in detail about the World War II years because it reminded her of high school friends who died in that war, she embodied the words in the card President Joe Biden sent when she turned 100: “Your strength and perseverance helped shape this Nation into what it is today and define what it means to be a member of the Greatest Generation.”

Mary Anne was preceded in death by her sons, Barrett Harrison Barker and William Campbell Barker; her grandchild, John Roberts; her nephew, Raymond Campbell, III and his wife Sarah; and her son-in-law, Mickey Roberts.

Survivors: daughters, Suzanne Barker Roberts of Dallas and Elizabeth Barker Willis and husband, Doyle, of Fort Worth; daughter-in-law, Pamela Dauksavage Barker of Goreville, Illinois; grandchildren, Kristine Barker, Andrew Barker and wife, Amy, of Dallas; Henry Willis and Easton Willis of Fort Worth; and great-grandchildren, Tweed, Drew and Jack Barker of Dallas; niece, Laura Campbell Bolding and husband, Bill of Dallas; many great-nieces and great-nephews and devoted friends including Dee Muniz.

Pallbearers: Andrew Barker, Henry Willis, Easton Willis, Ray Campbell, IV, Tom Campbell, Ben Campbell, and Bill Bolding.

Visitation, Friday, May 8, 5 to 7 p.m.

Celebration of Life, Saturday, May 9, 10:00 a.m., both at Sparkman/Hillcrest, 7405 W. Northwest Highway, Dallas, TX 75225/

Memorials may be made to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, 2222 Welborn St, Dallas, TX 75219. https://scottishriteforchildren.org/