Susanne Barber

November 7, 1940 – April 6, 2025

 

Susanne Barber of Chariton died on April 6, 2025, having lived a rich, varied life full of hard work, diverse hobbies, and seemingly endless energy.

 

She was born on November 7, 1940, in Council, Idaho, to Roy and Nina (Taylor) Barber, the second of their three kids. After graduating from Chariton High School in 1959, Sue took classes at Drake University and the University of Iowa, then worked a variety of jobs, from managing a truck stop to selling insurance. She spent the last 32 years of her working life as a unit clerk in the ICU of UnityPointe Health in Des Moines, finally retiring in 2021 at the age of 80.

 

Sue was practical, independent and highly capable. She carried on the Barber traditions of being a DIYer and jack of all trades, and never sitting still. While growing up, she learned carpentry and farming alongside her brothers and could always be counted on to be in the thick of things, working on family projects like building an addition to her brother David’s house or insisting on spending her visit to brother John’s house trimming trees.

 

She was always willing to work holiday and overtime shifts at the hospital so coworkers with kids could be with them. During her off hours, she was a serial hobbiest, trying everything from oil painting, woodworking and sewing Barbie clothes to cake decorating, gardening, and genealogy. She never did things by halves but went all in: When she began raising chickens, she soon had hundreds. She loved to read and owned hundreds of books by favorite authors such as Louis L’Amour and Phyllis Whitney. And each Christmas she would make and share dozens of types of cookies, even shipping them across the country to family and friends.

 

She loved introducing her nieces and nephews to new things, broadening their small-town lives with novel experiences like touring the AE dairy and Hiland potato chip factory in Des Moines, or making and eating Chinese food for the first time. Sometimes the new things were more her enthusiasm than others’ (like the time she showed up at David and Charlene’s with ducks and declared that raising them would be a good experience for their daughters). But her generosity and creativity were always appreciated.

 

Susanne is survived by her brother John (Coleen) Barber of Grand Junction, Colo.; nephews and nieces Dennis Barber, Philip (Cindy) Barber, Nanette (John) Latta and Ellen Barber of Colorado, and Jennifer (Chris) Mennenga of Knoxville, Iowa; sister-in-law Charlene (David) Barber of Chariton, niece Sherrie (Brent) Willson of Grand Rapids, Mich.; and nephew-in-law Kurt (Lorie) Thompson of Omaha, Neb., along with numerous great-nephews and nieces and Barber and Taylor cousins.

 

Preceding her in death were her parents, brother David Barber, and niece Lorie Thompson.  

 

Visitation will be held on Thursday, April 10, from 5-7 p.m. at Fielding Funeral Home. Memorial service will be on Friday, April 11, at 10:30 a.m. at Fielding, followed by internment at Oxford Cemetery and a luncheon at the Christian Union Church.