Barbara Ann Slusher

1925 - 2016

Barbara Ann Slusher April 17, 1925 January 14, 2016 A 90 year life filled with devotion, adventure, love, and service to others ended with the death of Barbara Slusher on January 14th. She passed peacefully at her home after a recent battle with heart and respiratory problems. Barbara was born in Alameda, California to Sam and Katie Parsons soon after their immigration from Newfoundland. Around the age of five a doctor advised that the family should move to Marin County where the climate would be easier on Barbara's asthma. They ended up in Ross where she went to grammar school. They later moved to Larkspur where she would take the train to attend Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, graduating in 1943. Barbara's life of devotion centered around the Redwoods Presbyterian Church in Larkspur, where she had been a member for over 60 years. There she did everything from organizing communions, teaching Sunday school, bookkeeping, and being a deacon. She especially loved working in the kitchen where she and the crew prepared food and beverages for countless church functions, weddings and memorial services. Barbara backed up her beliefs with action. She donated thousands of hours of her time volunteering for the church, the Corte Madera Lions Club, American Legion, and the Larkspur School District PTA (where she was anointed the "Spaghetti Dinner Queen"). She also volunteered many years at the Seek and Find Thrift Shop and the One More Time Thrift Shop in San Rafael, making friends with co-workers and customers alike. She was always one of the first to help out any one she knew who was going through a hard time. In 2006 she was honored as Corte Madera Senior Volunteer of the Year and rode in the Fourth of July parade. In 2002 she was selected as Volunteer of the Year by the Family Service Agency of Marin for her work at One More Time, which provided funding for Suicide Prevention of Marin. Barbara loved travelling and the outdoors. She was a member of the Sierra Club in her youth and spent many summers camping at and exploring Yosemite. In the 1940's she and a girlfriend travelled the southwest in a pickup truck, camping out on the side of the road wherever they stopped, sleeping under a canvas tarp (probably one of the first RV's). Along with her husband Gil and sons Doug and Rich (aka "The Boys"), they camped and fished all over northern California and Oregon. Many summers were spent in the California redwoods and Diamond Lake in Oregon. A small campground on the McCloud River was her special place. She rarely missed a summer camping there and her final trip was at the age of 89. Barbara married the love of her life, Gil (who died in 1989) in 1950 and together raised their sons Rich and Doug in Corte Madera. She was a wonderful, loving, caring wife and mother. In addition to family, she was an extended "aunt", "grandparent", and close friend to many, many people. Perhaps her greatest trait was the ability to go up to a complete stranger, strike up a conversation, and in a short time find a common bond and make a new friend. She truly never met a person she didn't like. Barbara is survived by her two sons, Rich (wife Jeannie and step-children Derek and Tanya) of Greenbrae and Doug of Larkspur. Barbara was especially grateful for the kindness, care, companionship (and cats) given to her by her roommates, Bob and June Bellen. A memorial service and celebration of her life will be held at the Redwoods Presbyterian Church, 110 Magnolia Ave, Larkspur at 4:00 pm on Sunday, February 21st. In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer donations to Redwoods Presbyterian Church.