Barbara Mary Richmond

Barbara was born to Arthur and Ruth Clees in Gowanda, New York, where she grew up with her three siblings, Linda Howard, Joanna VanWey, and Stuart Clees, with their Aunt Olive Ostrander. She married the love of her life, Dean Richmond of North Collins, NY, in Hannibal, Missouri. They had four children: Tracey (Keith) Goad (Indiana), Dean (Joy) Richmond (California), Scott Richmond (deceased), and Brandy Richmond (Indiana). They have been blessed with four grandchildren, Ashley Henderson, Lucas Richmond, Chloe Richmond, and Bridgett Goad; and one great-grandchild, Brent Hanley. She was also beloved by Aunt Barb and sister to many across New York and California. She loved her family and her many friends.

Barbara grew up in Western New York after World War II, where tragedy would strike their family as her father died when she was just a child. Her mom and Aunt Olive would raise the kids together. Barbara liked being the ringleader and finding the fun in life. In her youth, she liked saying that she played football with the boys while playing piano, as her mother insisted. She had great memories of picking fruit and vegetables at family farms during the harvest, laughing and having fun with her friends, siblings, and cousins.

Barb's parents and Olive worked in the medical field as nurses, and she set herself on the same path. She was a good student and attended Casanovia College (NY) for Liberal Arts and would get her Registered Nursing degree at WCA Jamestown College (NY). She would follow in her family's footsteps, working at the Gowanda State Psychiatric Hospital as a Psychiatric Nurse. She had many stories about this huge facility and the adventures that would happen there.

Barbara would be encouraged by a fellow nurse to go out on a date with a former local and nice guy named Dean, who was living out of state but would be in town for New Year's Eve, and a spark ignited. Barb and Dean were pen pals for two years and eventually would elope to Hannibal, Missouri. She wore a dress like Nancy Sinatra, knowing how much Dean loved Elvis.

Barb and Dean would move to Jacksonville, Illinois, where they began their family together with both Tracey and Dean. Everything seemed to be going well, but Barb was first in a scary car accident with the kids. Later, they would lose a child in delivery, so a change was needed.

They started over in the small university town of Greencastle, Indiana, and began to build anew. They found a home church on campus named Peace Lutheran, where they would build their family around Christ and a congregation that would be their extended family. Barb was involved in various ministries there over time that included Discipleship, Women's Ministries, Elderly Ministry, Youth Group, and Prayer Chain. This community is where they had their final child, Brandy, and became their forever home.

Barb would continue her nursing career at Clay County Hospital, working in both ER and Intensive Care. When the opportunity struck, she chose to work closer to home and joined her husband, Dean, at Putnam County Hospital, where she eventually became Head Nurse in Coronary Care. She loved nursing and taught smoking cessation classes to the public, as she learned the hazards and wanted to help others. She also worked additional part-time hours at Heritage House Senior Living Facility and began a love for helping the elderly. Unfortunately, Barb would get hurt at work, rupturing several discs and impacting her heart.

Barb reinvented the next steps in her life, as she decided to open a home daycare. This great new adventure would become a total passion project, as she would constantly be looking for new games, music, art, and projects to work with the kids. She loved the kids and their parents, and it showed. She would shut down the home daycare eventually and work her final years at New Pathways Preschool.

In retirement, for 15 years, Barb and Dean lived in San Diego, California, for about half the year to be near her son's family and have fun with the grandkids. She did not like cold weather and snow, so it was a perfect fit. She loved their new routine and was an amazing "Gaga" and "Nani." She was so happy to be a part of all her grandchildren's lives, going back and forth to Indiana. She loved going for walks with Dean during this time and the occasional date for a donut, coffee, or ice cream. They both loved going to La Jolla Cove and seeing the beautiful marvel of the ocean. In her later years, she would suffer a stroke that limited her mobility, and she would become homebound in Indiana but remained active on her phone and loved visitors.

Barbara was an amazing storyteller and was fun. She was a gatherer and loved to welcome people into their home and help those who needed it. She loved children, whether her own, her grandkids, or others. She loved to bake, especially pies that her husband loved to eat. She loved to take her kids and grandkids swimming, as she loved being in the sun. She loved studying the Bible and teaching the kids simple lessons. She loved Pizza on Fridays at Pizza Hut, ice cream as often as possible, chocolate, as she said all ladies needed it, and would romanticize Western New York's Beef on Weck. Her favorite season was the Christmas season, as she loved what it was celebrating and loved preparing for it all year. But most of all, she loved Jesus and her family, especially her husband, Dean.

Barbara taught us many things: Put Jesus first. Love your family, especially your spouse. Be baby crazy and have fun with kids. Never grow up completely. Enjoy life and celebrate the moments. Be a good friend. Help the elderly and needy. Write people letters. Go on pizza dates with your kids. Never stop drawing. And remember that life is a gift from God, as is His grace.

Barbara loved all the people in her life, especially her husband, Dean, who recently passed. She looked forward to joining him in Heaven, knowing that she would no longer be in pain. Her light burned bright and will be forever missed, but she reminded us that she will see us again on the other side.

Her Memorial Service and Celebration of Life will be August 1 at Peace Lutheran Church in Greencastle, IN, at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to Peace Lutheran Church, Greencastle, IN.