She was born on December 25, 1936 to Louise and Orville E. Wood in Rising Star, Texas. She spent her childhood in Kermit Texas and at the age of 14 years met the love of her life, Buck Gillock. They were married in 1954 and both graduated together from Kermit High School in 1955. During their 65 years of marriage, they worked side by side building a family and cultivating a home. Some of the most joyful years for Barbara were spent on the Walton Ranch during the early years of raising their four children. While Buck spent long days tending cattle, Barbara made a home of joy and beauty on the patch of west Texas desert. After moving from the ranch, they lived in Odessa and later Kermit. Some of the most difficult days for Barbara were in 1979 when their youngest daughter, Barbie, died at the age of 14 in a drowning accident. From that tragic day onward, Barbara longed for the day when she would be reunited with Barbie.
Barbara’s imagination came alive with creating a unique and welcoming home for her family. Her children, and later grandchildren, loved summer gatherings with homemade ice cream and cobbler made from her own backyard blackberry bushes. She made holidays into extravaganzas, always with a vast array of pies that spoke to her considerable sweet tooth. Her house at Christmas was a winter wonderland.
Barbara’s heart was turned toward helping those in need, both within her family and beyond it. In the late 1990s, she worked as a special education aide at Kermit High School, where she served and cared for special needs children. Over the years, she continued serving as caretaker of ill family and friends, making countless visits alongside them to doctor’s offices, hospitals, and nursing homes.
In 1999, Buck and Barbara moved to Marble Falls, where, once again, she put her creativity to work in transforming her new home from a wild piece of land into what can only be described as an oasis. She supplied the vision and Buck used his muscle and skill to cultivate their new home. Barbara loved “visiting” and in this home, she created the perfect spaces for catching up with family and old friends.
Barbara had a consistent faith in her Lord Jesus Christ, to whom she committed her life to at an early age. She nurtured this faith in her children and grandchildren. And it was the foundation of her long marriage. She was a member of Granite Mountain Baptist Church. She and Buck loved to read scripture together early in the mornings. One of her favorite verses was: “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”
Phil 4:13
She is survived by her husband, Buck; her children Brenda (L.D.) Green of Midland; Bill (Judy) Gillock of Midland; Beverly (Gary) Martin of Marble Falls; her 10 grandchildren; and her 21 great-grandchildren, as well as her sister, Linda Smith. She is preceded in death by her daughter, Barbie, and her granddaughter Amanda Jean Stout.
Our hearts ache at the loss of Barbara, whose laughter and presence meant the world to us. Just as she never gave up hope in one day meeting her Savior and being reunited with all of those who have gone before her, especially Barbie, we also look forward to seeing her again.
“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
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