Barbara Jester Douglas

Barbara Jester Douglas was born as Barbara Jester Straus on September 9, 1938, in Manhattan, New York, but resided in Houston, Texas on a large multi-acer estate. She attended the prestigious private school, Kincaid, in Houston, which was right next door to their home, for her early education, and then spent her later childhood and teen years at the prestigious boarding schools, Rosemary Hall and Emma Willard, in the Northeast of the United States. As a young adult her Mother changed the last name of the entire family to Selden.

She then attended Duke University in North Carolina, during which time she met George Douglas, who was attending Yale University at the time. They were married on January 31, 1959, and moved to Austin, Texas while George completed his master’s degree in Economics. During this time, Barbara gave birth to her son, Geoffrey Randolph Douglas, on March 15, 1961. Then they moved back up to New Haven, Connecticut so that George could complete his Doctorate in Economics at Yale, during which time Barbara gave birth to her daughter, Barbie Lynn Douglas, on February 15, 1963.

Barbara attended classes at Yale at the time and even took flying lessons with George, as he was pursuing getting his pilot’s license and instrument ratings. George and Barbara enjoyed flying often in one of his many private airplanes, taking their children along. They also enjoyed extensive sailing and traveling, and eventually built a home on a small out-island in the Bahamas, which they enjoyed throughout their entire lives. George landed his first teaching position as a professor of Economics at UNC in Chapel Hill, NC, where Barbara raised her children and enjoyed a robust social life, playing tennis and created needlework crafts. George was transferred to the Washington, DC area to work with the Brookings Institute and the Department of Transportation in 1968-1969, so Barbara resided there for the year, then they moved back to their original home in Chapel Hill.

George then resigned as professor and moved with his family to open an economic consulting firm in Austin, Texas in 1976. There, Barbara continued to enjoy an active social life, and volunteered with many local service organizations. In 1982, George became a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission as a Reagan appointee, so Barbara moved to McLean, Virginia with him for three years. During that time, she volunteered as a docent at the National Portrait Gallery. They moved back to their Austin home in 1985, where she continued with her volunteer work and became an accomplished watercolor artist.

Barbara became a widow in February, 2012 and lost her son also to lymphoma in April, 2019. Left with only her daughter, Barbie, to take care of her, she succumbed to dementia and lived her last days at an assisted living home in the Austin area. She passed away peacefully in her sleep on March 21, 2024 and was entombed with her Great Grandparents in the Straus Mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.

A memorial service for Barbara will be held Sunday, July 14, 2024 at 3:00 PM at Weed Corley Fish Parkcrest, Austin, Texas.