Barbara McQuiston Kreutzer-Vestal

Barbara Kreutzer-Vestal died June 7, 2015, at her home in Monroe, Wash., following a series of illnesses. She was born in 1937 in St. Joseph, Mo. to Joseph and Adeline McQuiston, and grew up among eight brothers and sisters and two half-siblings. After her mother died when Barbara was 10, she spent two years in a Catholic orphanage. The Sisters were good to her, and she kept fond memories of a kindly Irish priest who would ask her, "Barbie, sing me 'Breezes of Galway.'" She lived with her older sister from age 12 until graduating from Central High School in St. Joe in 1955. Barbara wed Harley Kreutzer, of Whiting, Kan., on September 17, 1955. They had five children. The family moved to Snohomish, Wash. in 1966. After Harley's death in 1994, Barbara reconnected with her high school sweetheart, Guy Park Vestal. The couple married on October 21, 1998, and made their home in Monroe, Wash. Barbara is survived by her husband, Guy; daughter, Lee Ann Kreutzer (David Warren) of Salt Lake City, Utah; son, Bruce (Laurie) of Lake Stevens, Wash.; son, Tracy of Monroe; daughter, Connie Baxter (Ken) of Monroe; son, Thomas (Makiko), who resides in Tokyo; 16 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. Memorial services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 27, 2015 at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Lake Stevens, WA.