Barbara Susan Puentes

Barbara Susan Puentes, 76, of Wichita Falls, Texas passed away at Hospice in a Dallas, Texas on Wednesday, November 12, 2025. She fought a courageous 5-month battle with Cancer.

Graveside services will be in January, 2026 (date and time to be determined) at Fort Sill National Cemetery in Elgin, Oklahoma.  She will be interred beside her beloved husband, Joe A. Puentes, who preceded her in death in March 2017.

Barbara was born and raised in and around White Salmon, Washington. She was born to James and Betty Bennett on November 19, 1948. She was the oldest and only daughter and had 3 brothers, James Kirk, born in 1951 and twin brothers, Dale and Darrell Bennett born in

1955. They also resided in Renton, Washington, and that is where Barbara met her future first husband, Jay Wetsch, in 1965. They moved to Los Angeles, California where their only child, Sherri, was born in June of 1966. In later years, Barbara began working for the Los Angeles Unified School District as a Teacher's Assistant. She also worked as a server, a cashier behind the Target Department Store Snack Counter, and became a Data Entry Clerk. She wore many hats.

In 1988, after her divorce from Jay Wetsch, she met the love of her life Joe Puentes. They packed up and relocated to the San Diego area, where they lived for 28 years. They were married on May 20, 1994. During this time Barbara went back to school, got her GED, attended secretarial classes, and became employed with the San Diego branch of Central Texas College, a Naval college. She retired from there in 2011 after 18 years. In 2016, they relocated to Wichita Falls to be closer to Sherri and the grandchildren. Joe passed in March 2017 and, as a WW2 Veteran, was interred at Fort Sill National Cemetery where Barbara will be reunited with him in loving eternal rest.

Barbara was a woman with many gifts and talents. Her hobbies included crocheting, cross stitching, working jigsaw puzzles with pieces that exceeded 5000 pieces and sewing.

Before she began working full time, she hand-sewed all of Sherri’s clothing. She also hand-sewed clothing for Sherri’s Barbie and Ken dolls as a birthday gift for her 7" birthday. But her joy of reading is what Barbara loved and cherished the most. At any given time, her book collection would be in the hundreds. That love has been passed up and down through generations of women in the family.

While Barbara was not in an active church, her faith and love for the Lord was present, and He sustained her through the darkest days of her life, and He blessed her by calling her home once the Cancer became unbearable.

She is preceded in death by her grandparents, her mother and father and her brother Kirk.

She is survived by daughter Sherri, granddaughters Elizabeth Miramon Driskill and husband Chad, and Tanya Speight and husband Tyler, 3 great grandchildren, Cody Cooke, Stephanie Driskill, and Paxton Driskill, brothers Dale Bennett and wife Moe, Darrell Bennet and wife Peggy, sister in law Karen Bennett, Dave and Nancy Canfield of Portland, Oregon, numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins and lifelong friend Marion Roberts

The family would like to express their gratitude to Texhoma Christian Care nursing facility of Wichita Falls as well to CC Young Hospice of Dallas. Their loving care, kindness and comfort that was given during the final months of her life is very much appreciated.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.owensandbrumley.com