Barbara Jean Donnelly

Barbara Donnelly
Oskaloosa. Barbara Jean Denburger was born on September 8, 1937, at her aunt Helen Knowler's home in rural Rose Hill, Iowa, the daughter of Edward Cornielus and Mildred Lucille (Hickey) Denburger. Barbara grew up south of Leighton, Iowa and attended Greely Country School. She completed high school in Pella graduating from Pella High School with the class of 1955. Following graduation with some guidance from her teachers, she took out a loan to pay for college. She attended Iowa State Teachers College (now UNI) in Cedar Falls, Iowa. She earned her teaching certificate from there in two years. Her first teaching job was in LaPorte City, Iowa teaching third grade. After a few years there she returned to college and earned her bachelor's degree in 1964. She was a teacher at Cedar Falls and New Hartford for the next twenty years. She was always proud of the fact that she had Senator Grassley's son as one of her students. After many years living in northern Iowa, Barbara returned to the farm near Leighton to care for her mother. She also taught title one reading at Jefferson Elementary in Oskaloosa for over twenty years. On December 17, 1988, she was united in marriage to Michael Donnelly. The two of them enjoyed traveling and trips to the Rose Bowl and a bowl game in Texas were some of her favorite trips. In 2011, Barb and Mike divorced. Barb loved to be out and about, she enjoyed staying up on current events, watching TV, feeding the birds and squirrels, staying up on current political events, and studying history. She was an avid Iowa Hawkeye fan and in recent years could be caught rooting for the Iowa State Cyclones too. In her youth she was active in 4-H. As an adult she belonged to Oskaloosa Business and Professional Woman, Oskaloosa Woman's Club, and the Central United Methodist Church. Barbara's independence was very important to her, she was blessed to have a group of close friends, Teri Fawcett, Marilyn Porter, and Lois Homberg, in her life to help her stay in her own home until October of 2024.
She is survived by her cousins, Glen and Marilyn Stiger, Lois Appelget, and Nora Wright, and her fur babies, Cat, Kitty, and Sally.
She was preceded in death by her parents.
Funeral services will be held Thursday, January 30, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. in the Bates Funeral Chapel with Reverend Jihoon Lee officiating. Burial will be in the Forest Cemetery in Oskaloosa. The Bates Funeral Chapel is in charge of the arrangements. Visitation will be held in the Bates Funeral Chapel on Thursday morning from 10:00 until service time at 11:00. Memorials may be made to Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter or MHP Hospital Foundation.