Barbara L. Rhodes

1931 - 2024

Nampa - Hallelujah! Heaven welcomed another angel today.

Barbara was the middle daughter of Howard Wilber and Lottie Serena Wilber. She was born on April 9, 1931 during a blizzard at the family home in Hill City Kansas. Her childhood was spent with numerous family members.

Difficulties during the Great Depression, in addition to severe drought caused the Wilber family to move from Kansas to Idaho's Treasure Valley in 1938. The family and their belongings were packed high, like a scene straight out of The Grapes of Wrath.

In Idaho crops didn't rely on rain for water and the Kansas dust storms were far behind. The family thrived and the Wilber girls felt like they were in the big city when they started school, riding a school bus that resembled a covered wagon.

Barbara graduated from Nampa High School in 1950. Her first job was working in the orchards of Sunny Slope. She was no stranger to hard work. She was employed at the Albertsons bakery in Caldwell. She met and married Bill "Dusty" Rhodes. They were married for 55 years, residing in Nampa. Barbara worked at mom and pop grocery stores until retirement. Bill and Barbara had 2 children, Lori and Joe. Bill passed in 2008 and Barbara moved to Coeur d'Alene Idaho in 2009 to be near Lori. She moved back to Nampa in Jan 2022 to be in the care of Joe and Louise.

Barbara loved to travel and was able to take a Mediterranean cruise in 2009. An avid fan of the Boise State Bronco football team, she attended the Fiesta bowl in AZ and cheered them on to victory. She found beauty in every landscape, even the most desolate. Her appreciation for beauty and nature was captured in her oil painting skills. She was an avid gardener of vegetables and flowers. She turned her yard into a palette of color every spring. One favorite pastime was fishing on the Snake river. In her later years she was a Words with Friends ninja, even playing French opponents.

The nickname of "Bubbles" was affectionately used by Bill because of her happy, effervescent personality.

Barbara is reunited with her parents, husband, brother in law and younger sister in death. She will be missed by her children, Lori and husband Jim, Joe and wife Louise, older sister Elaine, 5 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren.

A graveside service will take place at 1:00pm on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery 10100 N Horseshoe Bend Rd, Boise, ID. Services are being handled by Alsip and Persons Funeral Chapel.