Barbara Anne Popp

Barbara Anne (Colvin) Popp, age 90, of Jeffersonville, Indiana, passed away February 12, 2026. She was born on March 10, 1935, at her grandmother's house on Emery Lane, Clarksville, the daughter of Taylor and Ruth (Schaefer) Colvin. Her grandmother, Cora Amelia, chose her name, saying, "She looks like a Barbara Anne."

Barbara grew up in Southern Indiana during the 1940s and 50s, living in Clarksville, New Albany, and finally settling in Jeffersonville. She attended McCulloch and George Rogers Clark Schools before graduating from Jeffersonville High School. Her childhood was filled with Saturday movie trips with her brothers Jim and Bill, sledding parties with her big sister Betty at Crum's pasture, and helping raise her younger siblings, David, Cora Mae, Patricia, Mary Jane, and Tom, in a lively household that often included her grandfather Ed Schaefer.

In the summer of 1952, working as a carhop at The Trolley Inn in Jeffersonville, Barbara met the love of her life, George Thomas "Tommy/Tom" Popp, in a moment of bold spontaneity, she whistled at the handsome young man from New Albany while he was cruising through the parking lot. Three days later, they had their pictures taken together, and they dated every night thereafter. When Tom was drafted into the Army and stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Barbara wrote to him daily and called every Friday night on a payphone.

Barbara converted to Catholicism before her marriage, receiving instruction from Father Sweeney and being baptized on the Fourth of July 1953, a date chosen so she would always remember. Under a big Texas sky in 1954, while Tommy was still stationed at Fort Sill, he proposed with a ring his mother had brought from Indiana. On August 14, 1954, Barbara married Tommy at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in New Albany, arriving five minutes late but radiant in a hand-sewn lace wedding dress created by her mother-in-law, Agnes. Their honeymoon at Mammoth Cave was only three days, but it marked the beginning of over 50 years together.

After Tom returned from military service, he pursued civil engineering while Barbara supported their growing family. She and Tom raised five children—Tom, Teri, Larry, Cathy, and Greg—and became devoted members of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Jeffersonville for decades. Barbara became president of the Women's Club at Sacred Heart School and co-chaired the church spring festival as an annual fundraiser, as well as other events like summer church picnics, dances, and fashion shows. She supported the kids with rides to and from practices and games while they participated in swimming, football, basketball, cheerleading, science fairs, and more.

Barbara and Tom were adventurous spirits who loved taking the family camping at state and national parks throughout the 60s and 70s. In the summer of 1967, during the month of August, she and Tom, with the five kids in tow, drove from Indiana south to Louisiana, across Texas, to the Grand Canyon, Lake Mead to Los Angeles, up to San Francisco, through Idaho to Colorado, South Dakota, and back home, all in a Ford station wagon with a single tent. This took about a month, covering sixteen states. Barbara was nervous sleeping in a tent at Yellowstone because of the bears. And she quickly learned to make meals on a Coleman stove, feeding a family of seven every day. The trip prompted the quest for the family to visit every state in the United States in the summers that followed.

Inspired by local history and the desire to explore her family genealogy, Barbara returned to school, earning her associate's degree in journalism from Indiana University Southeast. She wrote for the school newspaper, Horizon, and was an active member of a writer's club called "Women who Write" throughout the 1990s. Many of her articles and stories were about her family. She also researched and wrote about local history such as the 1937 flood, gambling in southern Indiana during the 1920s and 30s, and how women stepped up to provide support during WWII by working at Indiana Army Ammunition Plant in Charlestown, Indiana.

After retirement, Barbara and Tom participated in volunteer work at the Jeffersonville Community Kitchen, three Habitat for Humanity events, building houses in Pikeville and Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Houston, Texas. They loved to travel, and after their first trip driving up the Alcan Highway in a Ford pickup truck to serve as campground hosts in Alaska, the same trip was repeated for three more summers.

Following Tom's death in 2007, Barbara continued her zest for life and travel. She has traveled extensively to China, Spain, Morocco, Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, Peru, and sailed on the Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland, Scotland, and England.

Barbara's family and friends will be remembered for her warmth, her love of storytelling and all types of music. She delighted in asking grocery store checkers about their lives and sharing stories of her childhood with strangers. She had a remarkable gift for remembering lyrics to songs from decades past and could name a song when prompted with just a few words. She has been known especially for her bold spirit, exemplified by that first whistle, and for her unwavering devotion to family and faith.

She is predeceased by her parents, Taylor and Ruth Colvin, husband George Thomas Popp, and daughter Catherine Popp.

She is survived by her children Tom (Lili), Teri (Frank Pontrich), Larry (Eliana), and Greg (Sara) Popp; by her grandchildren Stan Doll (Vanessa), Anne Doll, Christie Popp (Greg Bullman), Stephen Popp (Lauren), Stephanie Popp, Stacey Siqueira Popp (Cléber), Anna Popp, Tom Taylor Popp, Kaden Popp, and Josh Popp; by her great-grandchildren Aaron, Adam and Ada Bullman, Mellany Siqueira Popp, Arielle Popp, and Natalie Popp; brother Jim Colvin, and many nieces, nephews, and friends.

Expressions of sympathy can be donated to Habitat for Humanity

Visitation will be Tuesday, February 17th from 10am-12pm at Kraft Funeral Service, 708 E. Spring St., New Albany. The funeral service will be held at 12pm in the funeral home chapel. Burial will follow in Holy Trinity Cemetery in New Albany.