Barbara Jean Gray

1928 - 2026

Barbara Jean Gray

November 30, 1928 - January 20, 2026

Barbara Jean Voorhees was born on November 30, 1928, in Somerville, New Jersey, to Lester and Helen (Schmidt) Voorhees. She enrolled in the Iowa State Teachers College, where she met and later married Darrel Porter in 1950.

Barbara and Darrel had three children (William, Shasha, and Diane). Barbara taught High School in the Township of Orange for twelve years, then transferred to Central High School until 1980, after which time she obtained a Masters in Social Work. She was associated with Lutheran Social Service (Waterloo), the Mental Health Clinic (Waverly), and finally the Northeastern Psychiatric Clinic (Waterloo), where she was in practice for twenty years. Barbara and Darrel divorced in 1983 but remained friends. In 1985, Barbara married Donald Gray, and they enjoyed 32 years together before Donald died of Parkinson’s in 2017. She was also preceded in death by her only son (William Porter, 2020), her parents, and her nephew (Peter Wundram, 1998). Barbara died on January 20, 2026, at age ninety-seven, following a week in hospice after a fall in her home, where she lived independently for her final years.

She leaves behind three siblings, Helen Wundram, James Voorhees, Kathryn "Suzy" Spiegel; two daughters, Shasha Porter and Diane Porter; three stepchildren, Kelly Gray, Joni Gray, and Karen Beal; eight grandchildren, Ben Porter, Brad Porter, William Peterson, Ellie Celin, Beckett Dahlberg, Anne Hovick, Jane Preston, and John Preston; and fourteen great-grandchildren.

There will be a gathering in Barbara’s honor on January 25, 2026, visitation from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., service at 3:30 p.m. at the Dahl Van Hove-Schoof Funeral Home, 1825 W. 12th Street, Cedar Falls, IA 50613.

Any memorials should go to the Cedar Falls Public Library and the Cedar Falls Historical Society.