Barbara Ann Sell

She was born on Feb. 7, 1943, in Lawton, Oklahoma, to Paul and Evadna Knies. Following her father’s return from World War II in 1946, she moved to New York City then later to Ridgewood, New Jersey. She graduated from Ridgewood High School in 1960 and attended Westbrook Junior College in Portland, Maine.

In May 1961 on a blind date, she met the love of her life, Michael Sell. Two months later on July 6 they eloped and were married in South Mills, North Carolina. The two shared a long life together, raising three daughters. Barbara died just one week shy of their 64th wedding anniversary.

For the first seven years of their marriage, Barbara and Mike were stationed in various Navy posts in the United States, including Portsmouth, Virginia and Frederick, Maryland. The couple spent three years stationed in Cairo, Egypt, years that Barbara cherished her entire life. She valued the opportunity to live in another culture while she and her husband served their country.

In 1968, she moved to Columbia, Missouri, where Michael attended the University of Missouri. Upon his graduation, the couple moved to Monroe City, Missouri, to run the local newspaper. For 18 years Mike and Barbara were co-publishers of the Monroe City News, where Barbara wrote and edited articles for publication. Although she wasn’t a trained journalist, she became adept at writing obituaries, ensuring her work accurately reflected the lives of the people she was writing about because she understood how important it was to their loved ones. She continued to work at the Monroe City News for five years after the couple sold the newspaper in 1989.

Although the girl who grew up in the New York City area was initially unsure about living in a small rural town, she grew to love the Monroe City community. In her years there, she made countless treasured friendships, fully immersing herself into small town life. She loved St. Jude’s Episcopal Church, where she served in the altar guild.

In 1994, Barbara and Mike moved to Columbia, Missouri, where she spent the remainder of her life. She worked at Project Construct, an early childhood education program with Columbia Public Schools and the University of Missouri, until her retirement in 2008.

While she took pride in her professional work, the most important job she had was being a mother to three daughters: Jennifer (Robert) Plourde of Columbia, Missouri; Holly (Roger) Higginbotham of Edmond, Oklahoma; and Lori (Steve) Krebs of Monument, Colorado. She was their biggest supporter and cheerleader from the day they were born until the day she died. Her second favorite job was being a Mimi to her five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

In her retirement years, she enjoyed traveling and gardening. She was a voracious reader, easily reading 100 books a year. She never met an animal she didn’t want to rescue and was a cat mom and dog mom for most of her adult life.

She was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers, Philip Knies and Rick Knies. She is survived by her husband, daughters, grandchildren (Meghan Sell, Rachael Plourde, Katelyn Higginbotham, Hannah Beerup, Emily Higginbotham). great-grandchildren (Riley Hughes, Lewis Krapfl) and a niece Melanie (Phil) Scala.

The family will hold a private service. Memorials can be made to Second Chance, an animal rescue program in Columbia, Missouri, that was near and dear to Barbara’s heart.