Barbara Jean Thaman

Barbara J. Thaman Barbara J. Thaman, 81, passed away on December 29, 2017 at the Casa de la Luz hospice. Barbara struggled valiantly for 22 years with issues left from a brain aneurysm and then succumbed to pulmonary fibrosis. Barbara was born Barbara Jean Burroughs on December 13, 1936 in Peoria, Illinois. She and her five sisters and brother grew up in both Illinois and Indiana. Barbara graduated from Saint Francis College. About 20 years ago Barbara gave her children a lovely gift of written memories and many have been included in this obituary. As a young girl Barbara remembers moving into a big white house with a screened porch to live with her grandparents. There was a long set of stairs that led to the apartment her family lived in. When Barbara was 4 years old she rode her scooter down the steps and broke her left arm leaving her with an itchy cast. She remembers big wooden ice boxes with melting ice and dripping water that had to be emptied daily. She must have been very excited about the advent of the electric refrigerator. She loved to sing and dance while her neighbor Helen Herzog played the piano. She loved it when her Grandpa Stacy bought the family a Victrola. It was about 3 feet high and had a lid with a statue of a dog on it. The adults would wind it up with a crank and the kids would have fun dancing. She was struggling with asthma the day Pearl Harbor was bombed and for her World War II began. The livestock business where her Dad worked would send meat to feed the soldiers. She remembers the rationing and recycling from the 1940s that makes recycling in 2017 seem simple minded. Her family had a Victory garden and even raised chickens to sell to the neighbors. For a while she lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana and attended a Catholic grade school. Later she took an electric street car to St. Peter's grade school. In the 8th grade she received a scholarship to Central Catholic High School where she joined the marching band and played the clarinet. Her favorite high school memories were those of marching in parades and halftime shows. Barbara and all her siblings held jobs as soon as they were old enough. Barbara first worked at a soda fountain in a drug store where she enjoyed making yummy milk shakes and sundaes. Then she worked for a little grocery store called Krick's market. And she had to help with raising those chickens – 500 baby chicks at a time. Barbara graduated from high school in 1955 and earned a partial scholarship to Saint Francis College in Indiana. The college building resembled an old castle and had gorgeous hardwood floors and walls covered with antique fabrics. There were also fond memories of her other grandparents and their summer home on a lake near Warsaw, Indiana. She loved learning to water ski and drive the fishing boat. Her family also had many family parties for special or not so special occasions. The celebration for Grandpa Stacy's 80th birthday lasted for 3 days! She met the love of her life, Leo while in college. St. Francis would host dances and the boys from the engineering school were invited to attend. She and Leo married in 1959 in the St. Francis College chapel. They lived in an apartment while Leo finished his degree and started his career at General Telephone. Christopher was born a year later in 1960. After finding a huge river rat in the basement the young family quickly moved to a home on Rivera Drive. House payments were an amazing $97/month. In 1962 Jackie was born prematurely and in 1966 Jennifer arrived just as they were moving to a new house in Lafayette, Indiana. Barbara and Leo raised three children and for vacations the family often went camping, which was something Barbara loved to do. The family moved around often and made homes in Lafayette, Indiana; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Norwalk, Connecticut; Downers Grove, Illinois; San Angelo, Texas and finally Zionsville, Indiana. All three children graduated from high school in Zionsville. Wherever she lived, Barbara volunteered to help the less fortunate. Volunteering in Zionsville led to a paying job working for the principal at the high school. Later Barbara and Leo moved to Green Valley and then to Tucson, Arizona to help with Leo's arthritis. She enjoyed volunteering at the Green Valley food back until she was dealt a blow by a brain aneurysm. Barbara was unflaggingly positive even in the face of this major adversity a she continued to relish life and live without complaint even as her body was failing her. As always, she continued to love flowers and her flower garden. She loved reading, writing memories and letters, people watching, listening to her grandchildren, shopping in Tubac, and of course she enjoyed ice cream. Even more so after her aneurysm, Barbara loved to cheer people on. She encouraged a friend to earn her GED; she encouraged Leo to keep trying even when disabilities hit him hard; she encouraged all of us to never give up hope. Barbara loved the wonderful people in Arizona and felt that the only drawback was being so far away from family. Barbara is survived by her beloved husband, Leo of 58 years, children and their spouses Christopher and Kim Thaman, Jackie and Shiaw Chang and Jennifer and Jerry Parks. She also leaves behind four grandchildren; Cate and Jessica Thaman and Jasmine and Lily Chang; 5 siblings and their spouses – Stacy and Sarah Burroughs, Judy and Ray Laffin, Pat and John Bengs, Reta and Robert Rutledge and Kate Ott. In addition, Barbara leaves behind many beloved nieces, nephews and friends. A celebration of Barbara's Life will be held at Our Lady of the Desert Church on Saturday, January 27th, 2018 at 1:00pm. The Serenity Prayer God grant me the serenity To accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world As it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right If I surrender to His Will; So that I may be reasonably happy in this life And supremely happy with Him Forever and ever in the next. Amen