Endurance is an underrated virtue in life. There are those who flourish in a flash, grabbing the attention of the world with their vigor and ego. Others stand back from the crowds, watching and learning and living a life with proper meaning. This was our Mother.
Barbara Irene (Roth) Unrein was born on Feb. 6, 1928, in Forest Park, Ill., the oldest of three children of Mary Irene (Hayworth) and Cyrus Norris Roth. These were – to say the least – hard times. Her father was one of two men out of several hundred, hoping, praying on the streets, to be selected to work in a Chicago factory, during the early years of the Great Depression. He was a strapping young man who knew the value of doing any job the right way. The family survived.
They returned to their home state of Kansas where opportunity and stability welcomed them back. From an early age, Barbara excelled at school. She was tall and sharp and followed her mother’s guidance to the letter. College (Kansas State University) introduced Barbara to a bright new world. Here, she pursued an English degree, which she earned during a time in which women were told to wait for a husband to take care of them. Barbara learned to take care of herself.
A chance meeting during her best friend’s wedding guided her down an exciting path. She met a man she loved. He was bright like her, and they talked for hours and began a love affair, for the ages. Barbara completed her college degree at the University of Missouri in Columbia and moved to St. Louis to begin a new life. She took a job at a copywriting firm where the first question they asked was, how many words can you type. She smiled, gracefully, and went to work.
“Barb” and “Bob” married on Oct. 6, 1951, in her hometown of McPherson, Kan. Timing was never on their side. The Korean War had started the prior year in a faraway land thousands of miles from the innocence of Kansas. Bob received two cards in the mail. One was an acceptance letter to medical school. The other was a draft card. Med school would have to wait. They spent the next two years at a military camp in Virginia, waiting and hoping that Bob would never have to fly away to war.
They endured this challenge and moved back to Kansas to start a family. They had a daughter, Carol, and then another, Mary, and another, Barbie. Bob was finishing medical school and doing residency when their son, Joe, was born. Four children, and they’d yet to be able to settle down. As always, graciously, Barb made it work. She kept the family together by teaching her children proper values: honesty, integrity, and morality. And she taught them to dream.
In the small town of Hoisington, smack in the middle of Kansas and an hour away on either side from their parents living in Hays and McPherson (remember how important family is to them), Barb and Bob started a life for their own family. They welcomed their fifth child, John, and Bob started a medical practice as a G.P. while Barb took care of everything at home. Anyone with five children can tell you this meant keeping the peace, doing the dishes, washing the clothes, fixing breakfast, lunch and dinner, getting the children off to school every day, and so on and so on. Barb’s plate was more than full. It was enormous.
In 1966, they moved to Great Bend, a nearby city where they could finally breathe. Their new home was filled with love and laughter. Still, Barb was never one for idle time, so she squeezed in a half-hour a day to play the cello and started to paint – all while navigating the trials and tribulations of raising five children. Exceptional.
She pushed herself to be part of a community outside of family by embracing her artistic side. She engaged in a creative life with the Shafer Art Gallery at Barton County College and “The Aquarians” art group. There was also bridge club. The medial auxiliary. An avid member of Art, Inc. She faithfully attended the First United Methodist Church of Great Bend.
In 2019, Barbara’s health necessitated her move to Louisville, Kent., to be closer to family, then to La Grange, Kent. in 2023. She peacefully passed away on July 5, 2025, at The Springs at Oldham Reserve Assisted Living, La Grange.
Barbara is survived by five children, Carol (and Rich Hahn of Seneca, S.C.), Mary (and Phil Heye of La Grange, Kent.), Barbara (and Wayne Sanders-Unrein of Vernon Hills, Ill.), Joe (and Clara Unrein of Inman, Kan.), and John (and Kelly Unrein of Topeka, Kan.); seven grandchildren, Heather, Kimberly, Matthew, Beth, Katie, Rob, and Nicole; and three great-grandchildren, Nate, Ellie, and Isabella.
Barbara devoted her life to family and community and never complained. She was loved by all – for her heart and her compassion. She made a difference to the world, and this is what matters.
Funeral services will be held 10 a.m., Thursday, July 10, 2025, at Bryant Funeral Home, with Pastor Daniel Vandenburg presiding. Memorials have been designated to the Shafer Art Gallery, in care of Bryant Funeral Home, 1425 Patton Rd., Great Bend, KS 67530. Condolences may be sent and notice viewed at www.bryantfh.net.
Funeral arrangements provided by
Bryant Funeral Home
1425 Patton Road
Great Bend, KS 67530
Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, July 8, 2025
