Barbara Ann Easter went to her heavenly home February 26th, 2018 in Austin Texas. She was born in Dodge City, Kansas December 29, 1938 to Harry and Sophie Froelich. She was preceded in death by her husband of 41 years, Willis (Bill) E. Easter, and her grandson, Anthony B. Hollaway. She is survived by her sister, Mary Pettit of Joliet, Illinois. Her children’s families are Michael Easter and wife Josephine and their children Michelle and fiancé Justin Baiko, and son Brandon; Patrick Easter and wife Sharon and their children, Kelli Jo and husband Vasilis Vagias, sons Jason Easter and Robby Kuntzman; Mary Ann Hollaway and son Chris Carley and fiancé Tiffany Ducummon; Terri Amstutz and husband Gary and their children, James, Susan, Laura and Robert.
In 1958, Barbara earned an Associate’s degree from Hutchinson Community College and on September 13, married Bill, the love of her life. Bill had enlisted as an officer in the Air Force which required meaningful relocations around the country in the early part of their marriage. This led to all four of her children being born in different states: Florida, Kansas, Oregon and Illinois. The Easter family moved to Texas in 1978 from Pennsylvania.
Barbara was a member of the Newcomers Club for years. She was active with the PTA, book club, Girl Scouts, and Cub Scouts as a den mother. More recently, she was an active member and volunteer at the St. Thomas More Catholic Church gift shop. She and Mike worked as business partners after Bill’s passing, traveling thousands of miles by car all over the country. They helped many auto dealers improve their service models for their customers. With her second son, Patrick, she helped him take on his gigantic Thanksgiving Cajun turkey cookouts. The first cookout started in the late 80’s with about a dozen deep fried turkeys and eventually grew to about 70 turkeys in 2009. By then she decided she had enough turkey. More than anything else, Barbara was most proud to help raise and care for her daughter Mary’s two sons, Chris and Anthony. She made countless trips to the hospital to spend time with Anthony. When he was healthy enough to travel, she would take them on road trips. Barbara also traveled with Terri’s family all over the country, with her highlight being a trip to Europe. She was finally able to see and attend mass at the Vatican. In more recent years, she really enjoyed visiting her sister, Mary, in Illinois.
Barbara was especially fond of her 11 grandchildren, attending most of their activities and graduations. Spending time with them gave her the most joy of all. She was a great cook who loved to host dinner events for the family. Many of these evenings concluded by playing the family marble board game, Aggravation. This set the tone for bragging rights that would last until the next gathering.
The Easter family would like to thank the wonderful staff, nurses, and physicians at St. David’s North Austin Medical Center, particularly their ICU team. A special thanks to Dr. Duddempudi, (Dr. D) for keeping our spirits strong through this difficult time. The support and prayers from family and friends have been very meaningful. Memorial donations may be made to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 3316 Bee Cave Rd. Suite A, Austin, TX 78746, in honor of Anthony B. Hollaway.
A Memorial Service is scheduled for March 10, 2018 at 1:00pm at Cook Walden Funeral at 9700 Anderson Mill Rd, Austin, TX 78750. A Celebration of Life Reception will take place at Patrick and Sharon Easter’s home immediately following.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.cookwaldenchapelofthehills.com for the Easter family.
