Rita Fae Barnes

1939 - 2019

SEDALIA - Rita Fae Barnes, 80, of Cole Camp, died Tuesday, November 5, 2019, at Fair View Nursing Home in Sedalia.
She was born on April 26, 1939, at Royalton, Illinois, a daughter of Charles R. and Dolores "Dee" (Short) Downs.
At the age of 12, she was baptized at First Christian Church in Royalton, IL. She graduated from Anna Jonesboro High School in Anna, IL. She was a switch-board operator for Illinois Bell Telephone in Chicago. She moved to Deluth, Minnesota, and worked for Newspaper Aflcio and Labor World Inc. In October of 1958, she moved home to Royalton and joined the United States Air Force. Rita was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas until her discharge on January 22, 1960.
On January 15, 1960, at Seguin, Texas, she was united in marriage to James Philip Barnes, who preceded her in death on February 24, 1999. This union was blessed with the gift of two sons, James and Brian.
In June of 1960, she moved with her husband Jim to Kansas City, Missouri, to work for Automotive Parts Warehouse. In 1973, the family moved to Cole Camp, where she was a member of First United Methodist Church and the American Legion Post No. 305. She had worked for the Good Samaritan Nursing Home in Cole Camp, Lincoln Community Nursing Home in Lincoln, and Benton County Manufacturing in Cole Camp. In 1993, she went to work for Wal-Mart in Sedalia, where she helped open the supercenter and worked there until June of 1999. Later, she went to work for Dollar Tree in Sedalia, working for four years until her retirement in 2014.
She is survived by her daughter-in-law, Beverly Johnston of Phoenix, Arizona; her brother, Loyd "Bud" Enos Downs and his wife Barbara of Independence; two grandsons, Brandon Barnes and his family Melissa, Maddison, and Bailey Fae and Garrett Barnes of Bismark, North Dakota; her step-granddaughter, Nancy Johnston of Bismark, North Dakota; six nieces and nephews, Bruce Schwaller, Bob Schwaller (Marta), Paula Mitzel (Brad), Keith Downs, Kathy Gatzke (Clay), and Shari Downs Jones, all of Kansas City, Missouri; multiple great-nieces and great-nephews; and her cousins, Helen "Jake," Larry, Courtney, and Jessi Rigdon, all of Sedalia, Missouri.
Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Dee Downs, her two sons, James Gregory Barnes and SSgt. Brian P. Barnes, and her sister, Beverly Schwaller.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, November 10, 2019, at Fox Funeral Home, Cole Camp, with Pastor Jason Veale officiating. Burial will be in Cole Camp Cemetery, rural Cole Camp with military honors by the American Legion Post No. 305 of Cole Camp.
The family will receive friends from 1 p.m. until service time on Sunday at the funeral home.
The family suggests memorial contributions be given to the American Legion Post No. 305 or Cole Camp Cemetery in care of the Fox Funeral Home, Cole Camp.
Pallbearers will be members of the American Legion Post No. 305.