Barbara Jean Larson

spent her early childhood in Prosser, WA, then briefly in South Dakota. The family

moved to Hermiston, Oregon when she was in elementary school. Her father was

Superintendent of the Hermiston Agricultural Experiment Station, where the family

lived for many years, enjoying the best of farm life without the milking. She joined 4-H

and excelled in homemaking projects; she was proud of the blue ribbons she won at

the Oregon State Fair for soft ice cream and sponge cake. She was named class

salutatorian and received a 4-H scholarship to Oregon State University.

Barbara graduated from Hermiston High School in 1951; she maintained friendships

with several classmates throughout her life. She was a popular, vivacious teenager,

participating in many school activities as well as Job’s Daughters.

Before embarking on her college life, she was selected by IFYE (International Farm

Youth Exchange) to be an exchange student to England. While there, she made a lifelong

connection to the Bowles family who lived in St. Neots.

Barbara attended Oregon State University, where she graduated with a degree in

home economics. She also took a dietitian internship at the University of Washington.

While there, she taught Sunday school and realized her affinity for teaching. As a

result, she returned to Oregon State to earn her teaching credential. She taught in

Gridley, California and retired from the Washington Unified School District in West

Sacramento in 1991.

No account of Barbara’s life could be complete without highlighting the profound

importance of her faith. She came to know the Lord in her late teens and was a faithfilled

believer for the rest of her life. Seventeen summer trips to Israel, where she

studied Hebrew and immersed herself in Bible history, brought her particular joy.

In Barbara’s retirement years, she studied art and became quite an accomplished

artist. She met many friends through art and Destiny Christian Church. The family is

especially grateful to her dear church friends who were so faithful and kind. Barbara

was predeceased by her parents and is survived by her brothers, Ron and John, their

children, and grandchildren. A celebration of life service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 20, at Destiny Christian Church, 9470 Micro Ave, Sacramento, CA

95827.