Barbara Ann Barnes Gillespie

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Davis High School Davis High School University of Utah

Barbara Gillespie Obituary

Name: Visitation for Barbara Ann Barnes Gillespie
Start: 2014-05-03T18:00:00.000Z
End: 2014-05-03T19:00:00.000Z
Location: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Chapel at 101 Oakwood Drive off Suisun Valley Road

1924 ~ 2014
Barbara Ann Barnes Gillespie, 89, passed away peacefully in her home in Green Valley, California April 27, 2014. She was born October 22, 1924 in Salt Lake City to Herbert James and Eva Lund Barnes.
Her childhood and youth were spent in Kaysville, UT. She attended Davis High School where she was editor of the year book, and participated on the tennis and drill teams. She earned a bachelors degree in English from the University of Utah, graduating with high honors. At the U of U she was women's ping pong champion, co-editor of the yearbook and member of the Chi Omega Sorority.
She worked as a proof reader and later as a personal secretary to the director of LDS Hospital. She met Joel Gillespie, an orthodontist, and they were married May 2, 1949 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. They moved to Washington DC during the Korean War, then on to Berkeley, and finally to their home in Green Valley. Together they reared four children: Herb, Tony, Craig and Kurt. Barbara was an avid reader and was involved in several book groups. The Great Books Group they joined while in Berkeley remained active for 58 years reading 11 books per year. She was President of the Women's Auxiliary of the Napa-Solano Dental Society and a member of the Green Valley Country Club. She was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints serving as Primary President, Relief Society President and Cultural Refinement teacher, Young Women leader and Sunday School teacher. She served for three years with her husband as he presided over the North Carolina Raleigh Mission. Her family and friends will attest to her wonderful cooking skills. She was regularly seen walking three miles every morning on the bike path in Green Valley. Barbara was known for her ready smile, joyful disposition, and gentle kindness. She was always outward looking and radiated goodwill to all those around her.
She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Joel N. Gillespie of Fairfield, California; her sons Herbert (Carol) Gillespie of Roosevelt, Utah; Craig Gillespie, MD, and Kurt Gillespie of Fairfield, California; son-in-law Stephan Peers of Lafayette, California: and her brother Canute Barnes, MD, of Seattle, Washington; 13 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her daughter, Tony Rae Gillespie Peers; her parents and her brothers Anthon and Jim Barnes.
Friends and family are invited to a memorial service on Saturday, May 3rd at 1pm in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Chapel at 101 Oakwood Drive off Suisun Valley Road. Visitation with the family from 12 noon until the service. Brunch to follow at the home of her son Craig at 4375 Green Valley Road. Express condolences at www.oakparkhillschapel.com

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Published by Deseret News from May 1 to May 2, 2014.

Memories and Condolences
for Barbara Gillespie

5 Entries

Michael Partsch

September 7, 2014

Sorry to here about lost of Sister Gillespie.I got to know her from the mission field in north Carolina Raleigh mission talk to her after zone conference she always had a very nice spirit with her she will be miss dearly my parties go out to the family

May 2, 2014

To my beloved brother, Joel:

I was so sorry to read of Barbara's death in the local newspaper. It should not have been a surprise, given how old we are, yet it was totally unexpected.
Having been there and done that, I have some idea of your feelings at the loss of your "better half." I send you my love and heartfelt condolences. I wish I were there so I could give you a big hug and my personal sorrow for your separation from someone so vitally important to your personal happiness. If you are like I am, you are now feeling very incomplete and empty, yet can rejoice in the knowledge that death is not the end of such a precious relationship, but the beginning of your eternal family. Since reading of her demise I have had so many memories of our relationship, going back to those choice days we shared in the mission field. I lost a lot of sleep last night thinking of the joys we shared in the quartet, and the "too few" visits we have enjoyed with you, Barbara, and your family. I wish they could have been more frequent over the years for it was easy to love that cute girl you married. The trouble was that you chose to live so far away. Not that I haven't thought of you and your easy lives spent in that Paradise you have lived in for so long.

I pray that God will bless you and yours with peace and understanding during this period of deep mourning, and that your knowledge of God's beautiful plan of happiness will sustain you until your turn on earth is ended and you will enjoy that grand reunion with Barbara that the Lord has promised the faithful and true. Won't that be a great day?

When this tough period is past I would love to visit with you, catching up on your family's doings, and bringing to date our memories of days of yore.

Faithfully yours, in the bonds of our brotherhood,

Bob

Joyce Woolf

May 2, 2014

The Gillespie family will always be a part of our family. Barbara was a cheerful shining gentle soul. All our love, Tony Woolf and family

Dorothy Bramwell

May 1, 2014

Barbara was such a shining light to me all the years I lived in Fairfield, California.
I send my condolences to Joel and all the Gillespie family during this tender time.

J.P.

May 1, 2014

To the family, may you be comforted during this difficult time of sorrow and pain.
-Psalm147:3

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