Barbara F. “Barb” Roach, age 83, of Marion, died on Monday afternoon, April 25, 2011, at the Fairhaven Community in Upper Sandusky following an extended illness.
On April 11, 1928, Barbara was born at the Marion City Hospital, the daughter of the late Virgil and Dorothy (Lester) Anderson.
She was raised in Marion County, and attended Morral High School, where her father had been the school’s superintendent until her senior year when she transferred to Cardington High School. She graduated from there in 1946.
During her only year at Cardington High School, Barbara fell head over heals for a sophomore there in school, Alton “Al” Roach. Shortly after Al graduated, they got married on Halloween, October 30, 1949. She often teased him, saying “she didn’t know if she got a trick or a treat” on her Halloween wedding day. Together they have shared over sixty-one wonderful years of marriage, and they lovingly raised two children: Dennis and Crista.
A loving homemaker, Barbara took great “pride in taking care of her family.” She absolutely “loved making sure everyone was taken care of.” She treasured any moments when she was surrounded by her family, and she got them together as often as she could with their family “weiny roasts.” She also was known to spoil her children and grandchildren with her wonderful cooking.
In addition to being a homemaker, Barb helped her husband, Al, run their family business, Roach Marine and Sports in Marion; she also worked at G. C. Murphy’s, a dime store in Marion.
Having a green thumb, Barb loved spending time in her flower gardens, and most especially tending to her beloved roses.
A woman of deep faith, Barb was an active member of the St. John Lutheran Church in Windfall near Cardington. She enjoyed teaching Sunday School there and helping in the Ladies Sewing Circle to help make quilts. She was also active in the “Women of the church.”
She will be dearly missed by her two children: Crista (Scott Barbour) Sycks-Scott-Barbour of Atlanta, Georgia, and her two children: Nathan (Janell) Sycks, and Zachary (Colleen) Sycks, both of Atlanta, Georgia; and Dennis (Linda) Roach of Marion, and their two children: Jill Marie Valentine of Marion, and Benjamin Anderson (Meghan) Roach of Baltimore, Maryland; seven great-grandchildren: Emma Rose and Evan Sycks, Alex, Julia, and Jessica Valentine, and Lillian and Cole Roach, and another great-grandchild due to arrive in August; several nieces and nephews; and their close friends who were like family to her.
Including her parents, Barbara was preceded in death by her brother, Robert Anderson.
The Roach family will greet friends from 4 – 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 28, 2011, at the Denzer-Farison-Hottinger & Snyder Funeral Home, 360 E. Center St., Marion. Services celebrating her life will also be held there on Friday at 11:00 a.m. with Rev. Mary A. Curtis, the Chaplain at Fairhaven Community, officiating. Burial will follow in Glendale Cemetery in Cardington with lunch following at St. John’s Lutheran Church (Windfall).
Memorial contributions may be to the St. John Lutheran Church of Windfall or to the Alzheimer’s Unit at Fairhaven Community, and they may be sent to the care of the funeral home.
The Roach family would like to extend a heartfelt “thank you” to everyone at the Fairhaven Community for their gracious and loving care of Barbara and for making everyone feel like part of her family.
For those wishing to express their private condolences online to Barb’s family, you may do so by visiting www.snyderfuneralhomes.com.
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