I met Barbara in 1974 when my son and I moved into an apartment near to where she lived with her daughter, Kelly, who was just a month younger than my son. We were living in San Jose, Santa Clara County, California. They became great playmates and Barb and I became great friends. We were both divorced, mine becoming final Feb 14, 1973, and Barb's in July, 1973. If we were going out on a Friday night to listen to music, we shared the babysitting costs, as we always returned together. After completing housework on Saturdays, we would take the children to different parks in the area where they could play, amusement parks maybe a few times a year, and many interesting places in the San Jose area (i.e., Mission San Jose). We even went to Disneyland for Mother's Day, a great excursion for us and our 4 yr.old children. We kept in contact after my son and I returned to Oregon in 1976, and visited each other a few times in the late 70's. She came up to see me in Oregon before moving to Tennessee in the early 1990's. She had fragile health and wanted to be close to family. We kept in contact by frequent phone calls right up until her heart failed her on July 25th, 2003. She was a very free spirit who challenged me to do many things I never would have tried and I always admired her for that. I will always miss her and have searched in vain for her resting place. In her last years, she went by her maiden name of West and I have tried to find her under both her maiden and married names. I still have her in my heart, though, and still can remember her voice encouraging me to go back to Oregon, the State I loved, and I will always thank her for that.
Update: I paid for a copy of her death certificate and was able to find out her place of birth, her parentage and that she had been cremated. She was the only daughter of Ruth (Landers) and Frederic W. West, Jr. and had both older and younger brothers. Before becoming disabled she had worked for the U.S. Forestry Service as an accountant. Prior to that she had worked in a pharmacy in San Jose, which is the time when I'd met her. In addition to heart problems, she needed to have both knees replaced and had other health issues due to medications her mother had taken to prevent miscarriage back in 1950. I just need to contact the funeral chapel tomorrow to find out if she was buried or if Barb's ashes were given to Kelly. Now I have some closure and I'm glad for that. Apparently, Barb's ashes were returned to her daughter following the funeral; she lives in the Knoxville area. It seems kind of fitting that she is in the same area as my Burkhart relatives. I've found out what happened to Barb and that's what counts. Miss you, my friend. Apr 23rd, 2013
Barbara's ashes are with her daughter, Kelly Connolly. Effective Apr 2013
Update: I paid for a copy of her death certificate and was able to find out her place of birth, her parentage and that she had been cremated. She was the only daughter of Ruth (Landers) and Frederic W. West, Jr. and had both older and younger brothers. Before becoming disabled she had worked for the U.S. Forestry Service as an accountant. Prior to that she had worked in a pharmacy in San Jose, which is the time when I'd met her. In addition to heart problems, she needed to have both knees replaced and had other health issues due to medications her mother had taken to prevent miscarriage back in 1950. I just need to contact the funeral chapel tomorrow to find out if she was buried or if Barb's ashes were given to Kelly. Now I have some closure and I'm glad for that. Apparently, Barb's ashes were returned to her daughter following the funeral; she lives in the Knoxville area. It seems kind of fitting that she is in the same area as my Burkhart relatives. I've found out what happened to Barb and that's what counts. Miss you, my friend. Apr 23rd, 2013
Barbara's ashes are with her daughter, Kelly Connolly. Effective Apr 2013
I met Barbara in 1974 when my son and I moved into an apartment near to where she lived with her daughter, Kelly, who was just a month younger than my son. We were living in San Jose, Santa Clara County, California. They became great playmates and Barb and I became great friends. We were both divorced, mine becoming final Feb 14, 1973, and Barb's in July, 1973. If we were going out on a Friday night to listen to music, we shared the babysitting costs, as we always returned together. After completing housework on Saturdays, we would take the children to different parks in the area where they could play, amusement parks maybe a few times a year, and many interesting places in the San Jose area (i.e., Mission San Jose). We even went to Disneyland for Mother's Day, a great excursion for us and our 4 yr.old children. We kept in contact after my son and I returned to Oregon in 1976, and visited each other a few times in the late 70's. She came up to see me in Oregon before moving to Tennessee in the early 1990's. She had fragile health and wanted to be close to family. We kept in contact by frequent phone calls right up until her heart failed her on July 25th, 2003. She was a very free spirit who challenged me to do many things I never would have tried and I always admired her for that. I will always miss her and have searched in vain for her resting place. In her last years, she went by her maiden name of West and I have tried to find her under both her maiden and married names. I still have her in my heart, though, and still can remember her voice encouraging me to go back to Oregon, the State I loved, and I will always thank her for that.
Update: I paid for a copy of her death certificate and was able to find out her place of birth, her parentage and that she had been cremated. She was the only daughter of Ruth (Landers) and Frederic W. West, Jr. and had both older and younger brothers. Before becoming disabled she had worked for the U.S. Forestry Service as an accountant. Prior to that she had worked in a pharmacy in San Jose, which is the time when I'd met her. In addition to heart problems, she needed to have both knees replaced and had other health issues due to medications her mother had taken to prevent miscarriage back in 1950. I just need to contact the funeral chapel tomorrow to find out if she was buried or if Barb's ashes were given to Kelly. Now I have some closure and I'm glad for that. Apparently, Barb's ashes were returned to her daughter following the funeral; she lives in the Knoxville area. It seems kind of fitting that she is in the same area as my Burkhart relatives. I've found out what happened to Barb and that's what counts. Miss you, my friend. Apr 23rd, 2013
Barbara's ashes are with her daughter, Kelly Connolly. Effective Apr 2013
Update: I paid for a copy of her death certificate and was able to find out her place of birth, her parentage and that she had been cremated. She was the only daughter of Ruth (Landers) and Frederic W. West, Jr. and had both older and younger brothers. Before becoming disabled she had worked for the U.S. Forestry Service as an accountant. Prior to that she had worked in a pharmacy in San Jose, which is the time when I'd met her. In addition to heart problems, she needed to have both knees replaced and had other health issues due to medications her mother had taken to prevent miscarriage back in 1950. I just need to contact the funeral chapel tomorrow to find out if she was buried or if Barb's ashes were given to Kelly. Now I have some closure and I'm glad for that. Apparently, Barb's ashes were returned to her daughter following the funeral; she lives in the Knoxville area. It seems kind of fitting that she is in the same area as my Burkhart relatives. I've found out what happened to Barb and that's what counts. Miss you, my friend. Apr 23rd, 2013
Barbara's ashes are with her daughter, Kelly Connolly. Effective Apr 2013
Gravesite Details
Barbara West's ashes are with her daughter, Kelly Connolly.
