Barbara Ann Haines

Barbara's story began on July 21, 1935, in Wamego, Kansas. She was the second of what would eventually become eight children born to William Carl ("Juten") and Ruth Violet ("Granny") Stuewe. At the time, the family lived on a tenant farm near the small town of Alma, Kansas.

When Barbara was still in grade school, hard times led the family west to California, where her father found work building airplanes for McDonnell Douglas during the war years. Barbara loved telling the story of the family's journey along Route 66 in a Model A Ford, where her little sister Judy learned to walk in the back seat somewhere between Kansas and Los Angeles. She also remembered one unforgettable day when she and her older brother Bill had to dive into a roadside drainage ditch as a tornado suddenly swept overhead while they were walking home from school.

The family settled on Westwood Boulevard in Los Angeles, in a neighborhood that would later become one of the city's most desirable areas near UCLA. Barbara often recalled another memory from those wartime years: while walking home from school, she was hurried into a stranger's house after radio reports announced that Japanese submarines had been spotted off the coast of Santa Monica, sending everyone indoors for safety.

Barbara attended Alexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles, where she earned a varsity letter in "SPORTS" and proudly wore her letterman's sweater. She and her younger sister Nancy looked so much alike that classmates often had trouble telling them apart.

Her first job was as a ticket agent at the famous Beverly Theater, where Hollywood's biggest stars regularly walked through the doors. She later became a dental assistant in a Beverly Hills practice whose patients included many well-known celebrities, even members of the Warner family. Barbara liked to tell the story of glancing out the office window one day and spotting actor Fernando Lamas outside—a sight that left her completely starstruck.

But the greatest love story of her life didn't begin in Hollywood. It began at a church youth event at Malibu Beach, where she met Bob. From that day on, the two were inseparable. Shortly after they were married, Bob was drafted into the Army and stationed in Germany. Barbara left her job, and with the help of a loan from her generous employer, boarded a Greyhound bus to the East Coast before sailing across the Atlantic to begin their married life together in a small apartment near Bob's military base.

After returning to the United States, Barbara and Bob made their home in West Los Angeles, where their first two children, John and Diane, were born. Wanting a place to put down roots, they purchased their first home in Garden Grove, where the twins, Neil and Cheryl, joined the family. A few years later, Bob's work as an auditor for the U.S. government took them halfway around the world to Japan, where they spent three memorable years and Barbara worked as an English Language instructor to Japanese Businessmen.

In 1971, the family settled into what would become their forever home in Yorba Linda.

A few years later, Barbara began another meaningful chapter as church secretary at Hephatha Lutheran Church, later serving as the church school secretary. She started off using a mimeograph machine. By the time she retired, she was writing the final editions of the Hephatha Happenings newsletter on a PC. Through every change, Barbara embraced new challenges with the same faithfulness, dedication, and quiet excellence that she brought to her family.

Barbara remained in the Yorba Linda home she loved for the rest of her life—more than 55 years. It became the heart of the family, where birthdays, holidays, and countless celebrations were shared. Her annual Fourth of July gathering became a treasured tradition, and the home continues to be a place where family comes together.

Barbara's life was filled with adventure as well as devotion to family. She and Bob explored 47 of the 48 contiguous United States in their motorhome, missing only South Dakota. Their travels also took them to the Holy Land, Europe, Mexico, China, Russia, and Australia—an extraordinary journey for a farm girl who began life in rural Kansas.

Above all, Barbara cherished her family. She was blessed with four children, ten grandchildren, and seventeen great-grandchildren, each of whom brought her immeasurable joy.

On the day before her 91st birthday, Barbara was called home to be with her Heavenly Savior. She leaves behind a legacy of unwavering faith, deep love for her family, several boxes of stale crackers, and a life well lived. She will be dearly missed and forever remembered.

A Funeral Service will be held 10:30 am, Monday, September 21, 2026 at Hephatha Lutheran Church and School, 5900 E Santa Ana Canyon Rd, Anaheim, CA 92807.

A Committal Service will be held immediately following at Loma Vista Memorial Park, 701 E Bastanchury Rd, Fullerton, CA 92835.