Joan Barber
Joan C. Barber, 70, passed away March 15, 2006, at the Brendan House in Kalispell of lung cancer.
She was born Feb. 15, 1936, in Detroit, Mich., to Charles and Margaret (Finke) VanDekerck. Joan received her early education in Detroit before moving with her family to Birmingham, Mich., where she graduated from high school. She went right on to attend McCauly School for Nursing in Pontiac, Mich., graduating in 1956.
On Jan. 2, 1957, Joan married William "Bill" Barber in Birmingham. Joan worked for a short time at the Sparrow Hospital in Lancing, Mich., while Bill attended college at Michigan State. The couple then moved back to Birmingham, where they began their family. To this union three children were born: Kathleen, William and Daniel.
Until 1975, Joan was a stay-at-home mom, raising her children. In 1975, she began working at the Birmingham Allergy Clinic, where she remained until 1983. She was well known for her painless shots.
In 1983, the family moved to Lakeside, and in 1985, Bill and Joan built and operated the Dairy Queen in Columbia Falls. During the next 15 years, Joan helped operate the Dairy Queen and also volunteered at Kalispell Regional Medical Center and the Lamp Lighter.
She co-founded and ran Caring Hands, with the proceeds going to projects for Lamp Lighter. Joan was also very artistic and especially liked working with watercolors. She was a very devoted wife, mother, grandmother and friend.
She is survived by her husband: William "Bill" Barber, of Kalispell; daughter Kathleen Hardy-Gelinas and husband Matthew, of Kalispell; sons William Barber and wife Barbara, of Rochester, Mich., and Daniel Barber, of Whitefish; sister Jean Hampson, of Douglas, Mich.; brother-in-law Thomas Barber, of Marina DelRay, Calif.; and grandchildren Breanna Hardy, of Kalispell, and Shelby, Darby and Ben Barber, of Michigan.
Memorial services will take place Saturday, March 25, 2006, at 2 p.m. in the Johnson Mortuary Chapel, with Pastor Glenn Burfeind, of the Kalispell First Presbyterian Church, officiating.