Sharon Wolff's tribute to her mom Barbara

 

(Photo submitted by Sharon)

I do not publish obituaries but I have made exceptions for families I have known for years if they send a submission.

Sharon Wolff just sent me this obituary "for my mom, Barbara L. Bareuther (Keller) who passed away recently at Timber Ridge.  The funeral home in charge is Ayers but there are no services planned."

I just spoke with Sharon to offer my condolences. In addition to the loss of her mom, Sharon has chosen to share some of the difficulties she had to deal with in the obituary. What she shared with me will remain private conversations. I did cover the court case and who the local attorney was but this is Sharon's tribute to her mom and out of respect to Sharon and her wishes; this post will focus on Barbara's life.

Obituary:

Barbara Lynn Bareuther, Dec. 8, 1943 – July 22, 2026

Barbara was born to Ralph and Ruth Bareuther in Santa Clara, California and she grew upwith her older sister Nancy and younger brother Rick in Palo Alto. Barbara was a classic “tom boy” growing up and enjoyed fishing and camping with her family at her grandparent’s property near Yosemite.

Barbara graduated from Los Altos High School in 1961 before attending Foothill College. In1963, Barbara married Ronald C. Jenkins with son Timothy and daughter Sharon followingalong. The family moved frequently due to job demands in those early years and Barbaramade every place feel like home for her family. In 1975, the family moved to Vandenburg Village where Ron worked for a contractor on the Vandenburg Air Force Base nearby.

Barbara was an amazing mom who spent considerable energy being a room mother at the kids’ schools, a den mother for Tim’s Cub Scout troupe and a leader of Shari’s Camp Fire group.

As Tim and Shari grew up, Barbara decided to enter the workforce and began doing clericalwork at the air force base. Her first day on the job, she was thrilled to find a parking spotright next to the front door of her new office. She was later informed that the parking spot belonged to an air force general and she should probably not park there again.

Despite the dramatic changes going on in her life, Barbara remained dedicated to her children and to being the best mom she could. After 15 years of marriage, Ron and Barbara divorced.

Barbara moved with Tim and Shari to Reno, Nevada to be near her parents. She met James Meadows and remarried in 1980, moving the family to his country property in Crow Oregon.

She worked for the Bureau of Land Management in Eugene and continued being an active presence at the kids school activities and cheering them along in sports and drama performances. Barbara and Jim divorced after a couple of years.

In 1984, Barbara married Harold (Hal) Fanslow. They moved to the Sacramento Californiaarea and Barbara decided to go back to college to finish her degree and get a teachingcertificate. She taught 3rd grade in the Sacramento area and Tehachapi to kids who didn’t speak English despite the fact that she didn’t speak other languages. At that time, California taught kids in an immersion program where they learned English rapidly. 

California eliminated the immersion programs and laid off teachers that weren’t bilingual, so Barbara was pushed out of the state to teach. During these years Barbara and Hal divorced, remarried and divorced again.

Barbara married Ronald Keller in 1992 and they remained married until her death. Barbara and Ron moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where she taught 3rd grade English as a 2nd Language to kids from all around the world until her retirement. Barbara was a dedicated teacher who adored “her kids” and took tremendous pride in their progress. She loved teaching 3rd grade where the kids were “old enough to blow their own noses but young enough to not sass back.”

During these years, Barbara became a grandma seven times over and she couldn’t have been prouder. Despite living a distance away, she visited frequently and would send random “grandma care packages” to the kids just because. All of the grandkids have wonderful memories and stories to cherish about their grandma – she was a kick.

After retirement, Barbara and Ron moved to Roseville California to be closer to Tim and  and his  growing family. They lived there for a number of years before Barbara’s Alzheimer’s began showing itself as it did for her mother. Barbara and Ron chose to buy a house in Fortuna California, near Shari so she could provide more assistance as the care needs increased. 

Advancing Alzheimer’s is an awful slow-moving train wreck of a story so we will skip the details. Unfortunately, Ron was also experiencing his own mental health challenges at the time which were made that much worse by the pandemic lockdowns. The family had hoped that Ron would be a steady presence in the home who could assist Barbara as her memory continued to fail but circumstances intervened. 

A conservatorship of both Barbara and Ron became immediately necessary and Adult Protective Services did what they could for which the family is grateful. APS referred them both to the Humboldt County Public Guardian’s (PG) office for a conservatorship but family members of Ron’s came to Fortuna and removed Barbara and Ron from the county before the PG could file papers. Ron’s family checked Barbara and Ron into a locked memory care facility in Rocklin, CA despite not having any legal authority to place them and they restricted all family access to Barbara. 

An epic conservatorship fight in the Humboldt County Probate Court ensued between Shari who had been designated by Barbara and Ron in their wills and living trust versus a previously unknown nephew of Ron’s who had hired a prominent local attorney. The Conservatorship of Barbara has been documented by Shari and her husband Steve on their local news website.

Judge Canning appointed this nephew as conservator despite the recommendations of the court investigator to not do that. To make a long story short, the Keller estate was completely drained within a few years and the conservator “resigned.” Leaving Barbara and Ron as “wards of the county” under the conservatorship of the Humboldt County Public Guardian’s office. 

Barbara’s health took a sudden and dramatic turn downward this spring as she was hospitalized multiple times for urinary tract infections. Her health never recovered and she began to deteriorate very rapidly. Through the extraordinary efforts of Cassidy Ross and Kelli Schwartz with the Public Guardian’s office, Barbara was brought home to Humboldt and to her family barely two months before she passed away. The family would like to extend their deepest appreciation to the Public Guardian’s office, Timber Ridge and the caregivers who provided wonderful care to Barbara at the end. Thank you!

Barbara will be remembered by her family and all who knew her as truly one of a kind. She was uniquely gracious and had a talent for meeting people where they were. This made her an extraordinary teacher and a deeply loving grandma. She loved Christmas and enjoyed going out to see the Christmas lights and decorations around town. She was a kid at heart and it was infectious to everyone around her. Barbara hosted many family Thanksgivings and Christmases - she knew how to throw a great party! She had a great eye for decorating that is hard to describe but easy to recognize. She made the world a better place by her presence. She will be deeply missed.

Loving mother to Timothy C. Jenkins (wife Joann) of Newcastle; proud grandmother to Alexandria and husband Thomas, and Laura Jenkins. Loving mother to Sharon L. Wolff (husband Steve) of Rio Dell; proud grandmother to Marylynn and husband Casey, greatgranddaughter Ellie, Richard and wife Sara, great-grandson Damiano, Shauna and greatgrandson Walter, Michael and wife Kathryn, great-grandchildren Benjamin and Samantha, Steven Craig and wife Kiera, great-grandchildren Nathan, Jackson and Iris. Barbara is  further survived by her older sister Nancy Zinos of Graeagle, CA, younger brother Rick Bareuther of Sparks, NV and spouse Ronald Keller.

On a personal note, I see my mom every time I look in the mirror and I couldn’t be prouder. I get most of my best lines from mom who was one of the funniest people I know because she never tried to be funny. She was simply genuine and her enthusiasm was a joy to be around. 

There is a lot more to be said and many stories to be shared to honor my mom and her legacy. More to come...