Dolores “Dee” Marie Barks, of Wentzville, Missouri, passed away peacefully on July 10th at the age of 96. Dee was born on June 3, 1930 in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter to Adolph “Otz” William Judd and Anna Marie Judd.
She is preceded in death by her husband of 70 years, Harold Barks. Dee was also preceded in death by her dear siblings: Herbert John, Edwin Joseph, Lorraine Lillian, and Leroy John.
She is survived by her 5 children: Mike (Diana) Barks, Dave Barks, Jim (Linda) Barks, Terri (Tony) Page, and Dan (Shannon) Barks, 15 grandchildren: Matthew Newbold, Audrey (Gary) Nelson, Joe (Andi) Barks, Emily (Aaron) Gabbard, Nick Barks, Tyler (Lori) Barks, Jake Barks, Jonathan (Kristina) Newbold, Anna (Trevor) Brown, Erika (Joey) Denton, Ryan (Kara) Barks, Steven (Lisa) Page, Allison Barks, Blake Abby Page, Michael (Patra) Barks, and 15 great grandchildren: Elise, Tyler, Liam, Kinsey, Jack, Ellie, Riley, Scarlett, Hazel, Olive, Bradley, Grace, Bruce-Wayne, Emma, and Natalie. She was a much loved friend, daughter, sister-in-law, aunt, and cousin.
Dee was cherished by her many friends throughout her life. One dear friend, Joann Milburn said that if you only get to have one best friend, Dolores is the kind to have.
Dee’s Notre Dame senior yearbook pages contained photos of each graduate and a descriptor above each woman’s face. Dee’s adjective was, “Reliable.” While this doesn’t sound splashy or glamorous, our family counted this quality as the most valuable. Also, for Dee who was 100% Swiss, it’s an absolutely accurate way to describe her. Dee reliably stood by her husband as he first served in the Air Force and later throughout his many serious and a few wacky business adventures. She reliably took care of every emotional and practical need of her large and spunky family. In all that she did and all that she was, Dee was the embodiment of reliable: safe, true, good, steady, dependable, solid, trustworthy, secure, and loyal. Dee had the added blessings of also being both beautiful and intelligent.
During periods of working outside the home, Dee acted as full-time copy center manager at McLeod’s in Wichita, Kansas, and also worked in the epidemiology department at Monsanto in St. Louis, Missouri. She volunteered her time in the NICU at St. John’s Mercy Hospital, and in administrative work at Christian Hospital Northwest. Dee oversaw the first computer terminals added to the hospital in the early 1970s.
Dee had a sweet and endearing list of likes, loves and quirks. She was an avid traveler. Her photo albums were full of state-side and overseas adventures. In her later years, she and Harold made yearly sojourns to her favorite place, Las Vegas, which was second only to Switzerland. To augment her Las Vegas trips, Dee played weekly Bingo at St. Paul’s church. enjoyed cooking and baking, with beef rouladen, jello cakes, and flaky crusted pies being three of her many specialties. Dee was a very talented counted-cross stitcher, and a decent (her self-deprecating words) crouchet-er. She’d gladly crochet an afghan for you, as long as you wanted it done in the “ripple” pattern. Dee enjoyed spending many hours at the puzzle table. In true Swiss fashion, Dee loved candy, especially chocolate, saved everything, always had a tissue in her pocket, hid little stashes of money throughout her apartment, enjoyed a nice glass of beer, kept a very tidy home, swept her porch, had a green thumb, didn’t like to bring attention to herself, got by without, always had a jacket handy, and loved finding a bargain. She taught us that most minor ailments could be cured by “eating a little something” or by sticking a cold wash cloth on your forehead. She loved dogs and always made sure that the pets had a bowl of fresh water. Dee loved ice cream, and was especially fond of hot fudge sundaes. She was good at finding four-leaf clovers, and in finding the humor in almost every situation.
Dee was a beloved long-time resident of Twin Oaks at Heritage Point in Wentzville, Missouri. Her sunny disposition and sweet smile were loved by all. She was known to be a fair and serious (but not cut throat) Bingo player. If there was a Bingo game, Dee was there. Apparently she was pretty lucky, as her winnings (which were mini candy bars and nickels) were found in a hundred separate and varied containers throughout her apartment.
Dee lived a life of quiet, steely personal strength, and quiet, steely faith in our savior Jesus. Dee professed that she believed that Jesus is God’s son, and that because of His great and perfect love for us, He willingly came to earth, made His life among us, stood between us and the punishment for our sins, and took that excruciating punishment on His own body for us. She said she truly believed that he died and rose again, defeating death and our separation from God. She made her good confession of faith and is absolutely with Jesus now in heaven. God is the originator and author of “reliable,” so we can have HOPE and CONFIDENCE that He will do as He says, and we can be reunited with her one day. I can almost see she and Jesus together, walking in the grass, hunting for four-leaf clovers.
Services: Visitation at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church, 610 W. Ripa, on Tuesday, July 21, from 9:00am until time of mass at 10:00am. Interment Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in her honor to her favorite charity, FREE WHEELCHAIR MISSION at freewheelchairmission.org. which provides the gift of dignity and mobility to impoverished individuals throughout the world.
A Kutis South County Chapel Service