Maxine Jeannette Barnes

Maxine Jeannette Barnes was born as Maxine Jeannette McCord on October 22, 1935 to Coy and Everett McCord. She grew up in San Antonio Texas and even though she moved several times and traveled all over the world she always considered Texas to be her home. She always had an adventurous spirit and a twinkle in her eye. One interesting story about her childhood is when her parents took her to the fair. They watched a man cook a rattlesnake and all the while Maxine couldn’t wait to try a bite. He passed around a bowl of the cooked snake and Maxine hoped that there would be some left when it got to her. When the bowl came to her it was still full and she realized that she was the only person in the crowd interested in trying a bite of the fried snake. She took a bite and thought it was good. Maxine was brave and was not afraid to try new things.

In high school, Maxine enjoyed playing the trumpet in the marching band. She made excellent grades in school and one time her principal told her father that she was the smartest student at the school. He was very proud of her. She continued her studies after high school and was the first person in her family to attend college. She graduated from Southwest Texas State Teachers’ College with a degree in education. This was an extraordinary accomplishment at a time when few young women attended college.

After college, Maxine moved to San Francisco with her college roommate where they both became teachers. After teaching there for a few years, she applied to become a teacher on an Air Force base overseas. She got the position and was assigned to teach American children at an Air Force base in Sculthorpe, England. She greatly enjoyed traveling to see new things as much as possible. After a short time, she met a fellow adventurer. He was a very attractive Air Force officer that she met at the officer’s club on base. He asked her to dance and in a few short months they were married. Ralph and Maxine got married in the Church of England and she became Maxine Jeanette Barnes in 1961. For their honeymoon they traveled all over Europe in their Karmann Ghia convertible.

Shortly after that, Ralph was stationed in Florida where they moved and began their life together. Maxine stopped teaching and devoted herself full-time to making a comfortable home. In a few years they moved to Columbus, Ohio where Maxine had her three children, Diane, Martin, and Jennifer. They moved to a small town, Granville, outside of Columbus when Jennifer was three months old. They lived there for 10 years and had many happy times. They went sledding in the winter and swimming at Spring Valley in the summer. They made many trips to Cincinnati, Ohio, San Antonio, TX, and Brownwood, TX to visit relatives.

After 10 years, they moved to Duluth, GA, which was a suburb of Atlanta. The family continued to mature. Maxine had lots of fun times there. It was in Atlanta that she developed her love of Acting. She took acting classes, participated in local community theatre, and appeared as an extra in many films. She even went on to write a play that was performed in a local community theatre. The family owned a boat and spent many enjoyable days water skiing, swimming, and picnicking together on Lake Lanier.

After Ralph retired they decided to move to Tallahassee, FL to live near their daughter, Diane and her family. Ralph and Maxine bought a beautiful home with a picturesque backyard. The family would gather at their house and enjoy a dip in the pool and a grilled steak. It was a great place that their children and grandchildren could enjoy visiting with them and with each other. After the birth of their first grandchild, Nicholas, they became known to the family as Mackie and Pappy. It was during this time that Mackie took her final overseas trip. It was Mackie’s wish to visit Rome, because that was one place that she never visited. She traveled to Rome by herself when she was 81 and visited her daughter, Jennifer and family. They had a wonderful visit touring all the sites in the great city of Rome, Italy. It was the trip of a lifetime.

After Ralph passed away three years ago, Mackie moved to Greenville, SC to be near her son Martin and his family. She continued to be an independent and strong woman until her very last days. In her last few years, she enjoyed thinking and reflecting on life. She enjoyed reading and watching her favorite church service on TV and talking to friends and family on the phone. She would often spend the night at Martin and Grettel's house and enjoy playing rummikub with the family.

Throughout her life Mackie enjoyed doing puzzles, reading books, and playing the piano. She grew up playing cards and dominoes. She was fond of playing spades and bridge and was even called a “card shark” by some in the family. Mackie enjoyed laughing and cutting up. She always retained her spirit of adventure and zest for life. Ralph and Maxine both liked to travel and took many amazing trips all over the United States and the world. Some of their most infamous adventures were their drive to Alaska in the 60's, their mule ride into the Grand Canyon, their trip to Sweden, their trip to China, their trip to Egypt and Israel, their swim in the Dead Sea, their "Cousin's Cruise", their 50th wedding anniversary cruise, and so many more. Maxine and Ralph shared their love of seeing the world! They passed their love of travel onto their children and took them on many wonderful trips when they were young.

Mackie could see the beauty in the world and appreciate its wonder. She enjoyed "yard-saling" and looking for that one special and unique item. When walking on the beach she wouldn’t just walk along, she would always say that she was “looking for treasure.” She loved to look beyond the ordinary and could find value in what others might think was trash. She would keep her favorite shells and rocks around her house. For the family and friends that knew her, we know that Mackie was the real treasure that we were blessed to share our lives with. She truly lived an amazing and full life. She was very loved and will be greatly missed by those that she leaves behind. She is survived by her Daughter Diane and her husband Scott and their children Nicholas and Julia; her son Martin and his wife Grettel and their children Jorge, Danny, Esteban, Katelynn, and Genesis; and her daughter Jennifer and husband Andy and their children Ashton and Anna.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.mackeywoodlawn.com for the BARNES family.