Barbara Jane Fabans

Mrs. Barbara Jane Fabans née Douglas passed away Friday, July 7, 2025 at the Sunny View Manor Care Center in Cupertino, California. Barbara was 95. She was predeceased in 2005 by her husband of 36 years, Robert Fabans. Barbara is survived by her sons, Robert and Andrew, Andrew's wife Lara, and her granddaughter Amanda.

Barbara was born the daughter of Thomas Gordon Douglas and Mary Ella Beatrice Douglas née Powell on April 11, 1930 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and it was there that she grew up. She graduated from Patterson Collegiate High School in 1948 and went on to pursue a college degree.

In 1952 she graduated from Grace Hospital School of Nursing in Windsor with a degree in nursing and apparently a little taste for adventure. Barbara and a friend from college bought tickets for a train heading west, ending up in Los Angeles. They immediately found nursing jobs at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Hollywood.

By 1955 Barbara had gotten bored with Los Angeles. Her friend bought an old Ford coupe and they drove up to San Francisco. Barbara said that Ford was an adventure in itself. They had to travel with a case of oil in the back seat just to keep it running. In San Francisco Barbara got a job as an OR scrub nurse at the Children's and Women's Hospital.

Barbara's next adventure was learning how to drive. She bought a brand new 1956 Chevrolet 200 coupe with a 250 horsepower engine and a stick shift. She had to have the salesman drive it home for her. She taught herself to drive - and drive with a stick shift - on the steep, hilly streets of San Francisco.

By the spring of 1957 all of Barbara's roommates had moved on. Rather than afford the rent all by herself, she packed up her car and drove it across the country by herself back to visit her family in Windsor. After spending the summer with her family, Barbara convinced her mother and grandmother that they too needed a little bit of adventure. The three ladies packed themselves into Barbara's Chevrolet and had a leisurely 10-day road trip back to California. Once she was back in California, Barbara applied for a nursing job at Riverside General Hospital and was hired on the spot.

It was in Riverside where Barbara met her future husband, Bob Fabans, on a blind date. They were married in November of 1959. Bob was an aerospace engineer. They followed his career up to Rancho Cordova, and Barbara's first son Robert was born there in 1962. By 1965 Bob's career had moved them back to Southern California, and Barbara's son Andrew was born in Redlands.

It must have been her sense of adventure that led her to agree to move out into the middle of the Mojave Desert when Bob got a job at the Naval Ordnance Test Station in China Lake. She once said that she made sure that she had a shovel to take with her to dig a trench around her tent to keep the snakes out. When asked how well it worked, she replied, "Well, I never had any problems with snakes."

At China Lake Barbara became active in the PTA while raising her sons and also acquired a taste for bowling. As well as playing in bowling leagues in Ridgecrest, she attended bowling tournaments up and down the state.

In her later years one of her favorite adventures was to take a chartered coach to Laughlin, NV. She would take $15 dollars with her to the casino, and when it was gone the gambling stopped. Any winnings were saved for the next trip.

Barbara continued to live on her own in her home of 44 years until she was 93. It wasn't until 2023 that Barbara moved into assisted living and then into a skilled nursing facility. She finally moved to a facility in Cupertino close to her son Andy where they enjoyed seeing one another regularly until she passed.

Per Barbara's request she will be interred at a private ceremony at Desert Memorial Park in Ridgecrest, CA.

To send a flower arrangement in memory of Barbara Jane Fabans, please click here to visit our sympathy store.