Barbara (Barb) Beth Bangert, 77, formerly of Ft. Wayne, Indiana and Lenexa, Kansas passed away Tuesday, May 17, 2022, in Carmel, Indiana. She was born to Carl L. and Catherine M. Brink in Ft. Wayne, Indiana on June 18, 1944, excitedly sharing a birthday with her older sister Mary Kay (Joe) Snyder.
On August 15, 1970, she married her loving husband of almost 40 years, Stephen (Steve) Edward Bangert, who preceded her in death on June 16, 2010.
Surviving are her sons, Dave (Lisa) Bangert of Carmel, IN and Erich (Dawn) Bangert of Carmel, IN; six grandchildren, Ryan, Lily, Charlie, Max, Henry and George; sisters, Carol Eifert of Ft. Wayne, IN, Martha Hernandez of Fishers, IN and Margie (Mike) Petersen of Elkhart, IN; brothers and sisters-in-law Mike and Gail Telley of Ft. Wayne, IN, Rick and Diana Bangert of Nashville, TN, Tom and Barb Koehl of Melbourne, FL, Mike and Janet Bangert of Ft. Wayne, IN, Rick and Beth Prudlow of Ft. Wayne, IN and Tom and Tammy Bangert of Carmel, IN as well as dozens of nieces, nephews and their families.
In addition to her parents, Barb was preceded in death by her parents in-law Ed and Mary Bangert of Ft. Wayne, IN, her brother-in-law Bob Eifert, sister Mary Kay Snyder, brother Carl Brink and brother Jim Brink.
Barb was a loving and devoted wife to Steve. They moved from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania to Indiana before moving to Kansas in 1980. Settling in Lenexa just outside of Kansas City, they would raise Dave and Erich in Lenexa, a place they called home for nearly 36 years. With family back in Indiana, they created a family of many friends in Kansas City through their involvement with the Ronald McDonald House, Junior League, their home parish, the neighborhoods they called home and the boys’ school and sports teams. With nearly four decades in the Sunflower State, Barb and Steve’s friends were the joy of their life along with their family.
Barb grew up in Ft. Wayne, IN where she, like Steve, was one of seven children. She attended Central Catholic High School. She graduated from the University of St. Francis in Fort Wayne and was a teacher for a number of years in Indiana as well as Boston, MA. A lifelong educator, Barb’s professional career extended beyond the classroom working for Curriculum Associates and later for Head Start of KS, MO, IA and NE. She concluded her career leading Head Start across the 4-State region.
Away from work Barb took great joy in creating food that her family and friends would enjoy together. Whether it was lasagna on the nights the boys would return from college or later baking cookies with her grandkids, Barb loved making sure everyone was together around her kitchen table. Most notable in her culinary career was her 7-year run serving “Breakfast at Bangerts” to the St. Thomas Aquinas High School Basketball team. What started as several teammates stopping before school for breakfast grew quickly into the entire Varsity and JV teams descending upon Barb’s kitchen every Friday game day morning for an egg and carbo-load that only a teenager could withstand week after week! With Steve setting up tables and chairs, Barb was in her full glory preparing food and setting the instructions for the morning. If the team had played as well as she prepared the food the results on the court would have been much different in the 1990’s.
Passionate about sports, Barb’s days as a fan began by attending Notre Dame football games with her father and grew into every event her immediate and extended family was playing. Beyond her sons’ high school endeavors, she took great joy in watching family members that played at the college and professional level. Her favorite teams were the Fighting Irish, Boilermakers, Jayhawks, Royals, Chiefs and any team with a member of the family!
A dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, sister and friend, Barb was everyone’s biggest fan, always pivoting the conversation to others rather than herself. In 2015 she left her beloved state of Kansas and her many friends to live closer to Dave, Erich and their families. In the years that followed her passion was anything and everything her grandkids were involved with---from basketball, football, and golf to theater performances, Barb wanted to be at every event on the calendar.
Resolute in her Catholic faith, Barb attended weekly mass at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Indiana. She also treasured the opportunity to attend weekday mass at St. Luke Catholic Church and was beaming with pride in recent years as she saw her grandsons serve mass at St. Luke.
After faith and family, friends were vital to Barb’s life. She was blessed with many dear friends from Indiana to Kansas and back home again to the Hoosier state in her final years. Barb enjoyed long walks and conversations with friends, but her favorite was time spent in her home or backyard with friends enjoying iced tea and the immaculate landscape she and Steve created through his construction of the deck and fountain and her gardening (and weeding) for hours on end! On behalf of Barb, her family would like to thank Linda Haskell who Barb came to know upon moving back to Indiana. Linda and Barb were dear friends from their first meeting and in Barb's challenges of the past 18 months Linda was by her side every step of the way. Linda's friendship with Barb beautifully captures Barb's lifelong friendships with so many dear ones---honest, caring and compassionate conversation with focus on family, friends and shared experiences.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 4 pm Eastern on Friday May 20, 2022, at St. Luke Catholic Church in Indianapolis, IN. The family will greet guests immediately following the mass at approximately 5pm. As Barb would want it, food and drink will be shared following Mass at Seasons 52 located at 8650 Keystone Crossing, Indianapolis, IN 46240.
Contributions in lieu of flowers can be made in Barb’s memory to one of the following:
Catholic Charities of Indianapolis Catholic Charities Secratariat https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=0a5354
Little Sisters of the Poor https://littlesistersofthepoor.org/
