Barbara Jayne Parker – Oma

Born June 24, 1921 in New Castle, Indiana — Parents Maude and J.W. Fisk. Her parents and three sisters, Dorothy, Jeanne, & Martha, predeceased her. Barbara learned to drive in a panel truck as a young teenager delivering groceries and meats around town from the family market in New Castle.

She graduated from Ball State University Nursing School where she made lifelong friendships with her 14 Classmates. She was a Registered Nurse in Indiana and then California for 50 years.

Married to Charles E. Harper, she led a busy life raising a growing family of 5 children in Indianapolis. Barbara was quite the artist, exhibiting her oil paintings for many years at the Indiana State Fair. She was an accomplished seamstress — winning a trip to New York City as a finalist in the 1951 National Sewing Contest held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The family moved to Santa Barbara in 1961.

In the mid-seventies she married Furman C. Parker. They enjoyed traveling to see the Terracotta soldiers in China and genealogy trips to Utah, Indiana and Washington D.C. Barbara enjoyed quilting into her nineties and always had a beautiful quilt ready for new grandbabies
and great grandbabies. She was a Life Master in the game of Bridge. She maintained multi-generational friendships throughout the years including her Nursing, Quilting, Artists and Bridge groups.

Most of all Barbara was a loving and generous Mother, Grandmother, and Great Grandmother – Oma to all — the glue that holds a large extended family together.

Barbara is survived by her 5 children: David (Lana) Harper, Judy Betancourt, Julie Calhoun, Becky (Steve) Fields, and Steve (Mary) Harper; 16 Grandchildren and 22 Great Grandchildren.

She told us “old age is not for sissies” and her last 3 years with dementia proved that to be true.
Celebration of Life at Cambridge Drive Community Church, on Sunday, 9/15 at 2:00.
(550 Cambridge Dr. Goleta)