Barbara Lee Geithner

Barbara was born in Miami, FL to Joseph and Mary Elizabeth (Liz) Dobbs on December 30, 1946. She graduated from Miami High School and married her high school sweetheart, Thomas Geithner Jr. Together, they shared 61 years of marriage, building a family full of cherished memories. Their love of travel took them on several adventures with their favorite trips being on their Harley-Davidson motorcycle meeting up with dear friends to drive the mountains of Georgia and North Carolina.

As a devoted daughter, sister, cousin, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and aunt she always put her family first. She knew how to make everyone feel at home, loved and important. Some of her fondest memories were growing up in Miami with her brother Michael and sisters LaDonna and Gail – who were her best friends.

After a long career working for various companies, she left the workforce to focus on passion projects like helping to raise her beloved grandchildren - she played an active role in their education and activities. She was also an avid gardener who inherited her green thumb from her mother. Daily she could be found enthusiastically nurturing her orchid collection, tending to her butterfly garden or teaching neighbors all about the lifecycle of the butterfly – a passion she would pass on to her children and grandchildren.

Friendships were cherished and kept close to her heart – her sisters and cousins would carry a bond beyond family, high school friends and those who were once coworkers would become part of her family. Strangers met in a diner in Maine would become pen pals sharing travel postcards from near and far. And in the last years of her life when words could no longer be used to foster friendships, her facial expressions or a touch of her hand clearly expressed the love she had for you. This was seen in the deep relationships she formed with her caregivers and family.

Barbara was known for her radiant personality, wonderful sense of humor, joyful and faithful spirit, and generous heart. She truly lived a life full of love, resilience, and dedication to her family and friends. Just as the butterfly cannot skip the chrysalis, people cannot skip the challenges that shape them. Every stage of her life had a purpose. The struggles that seem to hold her still were the very moments that prepared her to become what she was meant to be.

Barbara is survived by her beloved husband Tom; her daughters Michelle Roache (Paul), Brandie Watkins; her grandchildren, Christopher Roache (Melissa), Miranda Watkins, Andrew Roache, Miles Watkins, and Emily Roache and her great-grandchildren, Lucas and Gia Roache, her sisters LaDonna McCollum and Gail Long, and several nieces and nephews.

A private celebration of life will be held at a future date. In lieu of flowers, the family ask those wishing to honor Barbara to donate to Fairchild Botanical Gardens https://ftbg.ticketapp.org/portal/product/49