Goodbye to a Good Grandma
My grandma Barker passed away yesterday. She was such a fun grandma and I have so many happy memories of spending time at her house. I love to bake and, thinking back on it, I probably get that from Grandma. She always had homemade sugar cookies in the house and taught me how to make them. Sugar cookies are still one of my favorite things to make.
It was so fun going to Grandma and Grandpa’s house after church, especially when my cousins were there. We had so much fun eating, riding 4-wheelers, sliding down the stairs, playing dress up in the basement, or whatever else crazy thing we dreamed up. Grandma always had junk food at her house too. I remember once asking my mom to buy Little Debbie’s and she said no. I told her that Grandma bought them and she told me, “That’s why you go to Grandma’s house then!”
For many years, Grandma taught my class at church. She was a great teacher and I learned lots of Bible stories from her. We also used to have races to see who could find a Bible verse the fastest. I was really good at it and I’m sure it’s from learning so much from Grandma. She taught me how to remember all the books of the Bible in order.
Family was important to Grandma and not just our family. One of her great skills was her encyclopedia knowledge of people in the Adventist church. She was really good at finding some connection between people! Once I visited a church in Alabama and when I came back home and mentioned someone I met, she knew so-and-so who was related to that person. It was impressive.
I wrote Grandma’s obituary and I think you will be able to tell what a special Grandma she was.
Evelyn June Prusia Barker was born on May 18, 1924 and passed away on December 21, 2019 at the age of 95. Evelyn was born in Burt County, Tekamah, Nebraska, the eldest of four children. Evelyn grew up in Nebraska and graduated from high school at Platte Valley Academy near Shelton, Nebraska. After she graduated from high school, she attended Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, for two years where she met her future husband, Lyle Barker. Evelyn and Lyle were married on July 2, 1946 in Tekamah, Nebraska. Evelyn taught school for three years in Nebraska before the couple moved to a farm near Milford, Iowa, and began their family with three sons, Guy, Bruce, and Gary. In 1954, the family moved to a farm near Liberal, Missouri. Evelyn went back to school and graduated from Pittsburg State University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Education in 1960. In addition to working on her degree, Evelyn and Lyle welcomed a daughter, Sherry. Evelyn taught in the Liberal school district for 17 years, including teaching her future daughter-in-law.
Evelyn was very good at keeping busy. Her house was always spotless, including the garage. Evelyn’s garage floor was likely cleaner than most people’s kitchens! She loved her grandkids and always had their favorite snacks on hand including gummy bears, Little Debbie snack cakes, and sugar cookies. Evelyn’s sugar cookies were famous in the family and she taught her granddaughters how to bake them, though she did not approve of eating raw cookie dough. (The grandkids got good at sneaking bites when she wasn’t looking!) Evelyn was devoted to her church, the Pittsburg Seventh-Day Adventist Church, and helped out in any way she could. She taught Sabbath School for many years and was an excellent teacher of Bible stories through the use of her vast collection of felts. While Evelyn always claimed that she was not a good cook, her family loved going to her house after church for family gatherings. All of Evelyn’s grandchildren loved eating her lunch (usually with ice cream roll for dessert), playing at her house with cousins, and being surrounded by love. Sometimes if the kids were extra lucky, they could convince Evelyn to take them out for underage driving lessons down the dirt roads or the runway! Evelyn left her family with a lot of memories that they will cherish forever.
Evelyn is survived by her sons, Guy (Phyllis) Barker, Bruce (Leann) Barker, and Gary (Gwen) Barker; her daughter Sherry (Mark) Christian; six granddaughters, Julie Barker, Kristal Barker, Valerie Barker, Lindsey Ekrem, Kari Meadows, and Tracy Rudolph; two grandsons Brent Barker and Josh Christian; three great-granddaughters; three great-grandsons; and sisters, Shirley Woodruff and Marilyn Kessler. Evelyn was preceded in death by her husband, Lyle, her parents, Harold and Myrna Prusia, her brother, Norman Prusia, and daughter-in-law, Marilyn. Evelyn’s family loved her greatly and will deeply miss her.
