Barbara McConnell

Barbara June (Lawrence) McConnell

1929-2013

Barbara June McConnell passed away on October 29, 2013 at the age of 84. Born in San Francisco to Dr. Walter and Eleanor Lawrence in 1929, she graduated from Lowell High School in 1946 and U.C. Berkeley in 1950, where she was a member of Phi Mu Sorority. She married George Robert (Bob) McConnell in 1954, and they had three sons, Michael, David and William. While they lived in Marin she was Executive Secretary for the American Cancer Society and worked with the Girl Scouts in San Mateo and San Francisco. In Mill Valley she began her lifelong association with the Great Books Foundation. After two years in Colorado the family returned to California in 1971, making their home in Alameda, and Barbara returned to the Girl Scouts. In 1978 they moved to Sonoma County, and Barbara took a position as Program Coordinator in the Healdsburg School District where she worked until she retired in 1993. When Bob retired in 1983, they bought a ranch in Sebastopol. After Bob's death in 2008, Barbara moved to their Rossmoor home. She was preceded in death by her parents; a daughter, Kathleen; and her devoted husband of 54 years, Bob. She is survived by her three sons and their loving wives, Lisa, Jenny and Sherri; six grandchildren whom she adored; a sister, Mary Clark (Cottage Grove OR); and her many friends throughout the Bay Area and beyond. A celebration of her life will take place at the Fireside Room at Rossmoor in Walnut Creek on Sunday, January 5, 2014 from 3:30 to 7 pm.