Barbara Lou Myers

Barbara Lou (Evans) Myers was born on August 10, 1933, in Altoona, Pennsylvania – the fifth surviving child of Leroy and Ella (Brown) Evans. Leroy was a blacksmith for the Pennsylvania Railroad as well as an itinerant preacher for the Christian and Missionary Alliance in rural Central Pennsylvania. Ella was a homemaker whose floral arrangements and homemade pies regularly won blue ribbons at the county fair.

“Barbie,” as she was called in those days, was raised with her siblings in the small village of Fuoss Mills, Pennsylvania, -- a suburb of Tyrone which is a suburb of Altoona. Barbie greatly loved being raised in the country and spending lots of time outdoors. She often reminisced about traipsing through the endless acres of empty fields and ice skating on the frozen pond with her childhood friends.

Barbie’s brother Vernon met Lester Myers in the late1940s at Mahaffey Camp in Central Pennsylvania. Les began making regular visits to the Evans’ home, and over time his attention began to drift from Vernon to Barbie – who was much cuter! Les and Barb married in Altoona on August 9, 1952, the day before Barbie’s 19th birthday. Nine days before her death, Barb and Les celebrated their 74th anniversary.

Right after the wedding, Barb and Les moved to Washington, D.C., for Les – then an Army Sergeant– to begin working for the U.S. intelligence community. That was the beginning of over 70 years of life together in the D.C. area – first in Northwest D.C., then to Arlington, Mt. Rainier, Greenbelt, Beltsville, and finally to Riderwood Village in Silver Spring.

In every home in which Barb and Les lived, Barb became the hostess extraordinaire. Literally hundreds if not thousands of friends have sat around her tables and eaten her scrumptious cooking. Their earliest guests sat at a card table with folding chairs, and most recent guests were feted in a formal dining room with solid oak furniture. But every guest enjoyed Barb’s laughter and stories and piano playing and love.

Music was one of Barb’s greatest passions, and certainly her gift. She was a natural at playing the piano and began playing in churches at the age of 14 and continued well into her 70s. And she never took a dime for those many, many years of piano playing. She did it all in service to the church. She could play anything. If it was in her head, it would come out from her fingers. She played hymns with gusto – and with a passion reflective of her love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Les was the love of Barb’s life. She had a devotion to him not seen in most marriages. He was her hero, her rock, her caregiver in later years. Her best friend for over 74 years.

Barb loved her Savior, Jesus Christ. She loved His Word and His Church and His people. She lived out the teaching of I John 3:11: “For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” She modeled that love for others to her children and grandchildren. She never met a stranger as they all quickly became her friends.

Barb’s senior class at Bellwood-Antis High School voted her Most Likely to Succeed. And succeed she did. Not in the way that the world usually views success – vocational prestige, money, fame, position. Barb succeeded in offering her kind and friendly spirit to every person she met. She succeeded in her devotion to her husband and family, her unmatched gift of creating a warm and welcoming home, and her unwavering faith in Christ. She leaves behind a legacy of faith, family, and friends, and she is missed endlessly.

Barb is survived by her husband of 74 years, Lester Myers, of Silver Spring, Md.; two sons, Ken (Kate) Myers of Ruckersville, Va.; Tom (Beth) Myers of Quarryville, Pa.; a daughter, Karen (Don) Frank, of Beltsville, Md.; nine grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, August 29, at 1 p.m. at Good Hope Presbyterian Church, 12131 Route 216, Fulton, Md. 20759. A reception will follow. Friends are also welcome to attend the burial on Sunday, August 30, at 2:30 p.m. at Parklawn Memorial Park, 12800 Veirs Mill Rd., Rockville, Md. 20853.

In lieu of flowers, friends may donate to Good Hope Presbyterian Church at this online link: https://goodhopepca.com/online-giving-information/. In the “Suggested Use” box, please type “In memory of Barbara Myers.” Or if you wish to send a check, you can write it out to “Good Hope PCA” and mail it to: Good Hope PCA, c/o Daric Bossman, 113950 Rover Mill Road, West Friendship, MD 21794.