Douglass, Barbara Mae (1956-2018)

DOUGLASS, MUDGE, ROSS, SCIONTI, DREYER, JOHNSON

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 5/18/2021 at 17:36:23

Barbara Mae Douglass
April 13, 1956 - August 26, 2018

Barbara Douglass, age 62, of Lakeside, Iowa, died on Sunday, August 26, 2018, at Fonda Specialty Care in Fonda, Iowa.

Barbara Mae Douglass, a daughter of Gilbert and Pauline (Mudge) Douglass, was born on April 13, 1956, in Storm Lake, Iowa. In her youth, she attended grade school in Storm Lake. In 1974, however, she graduated from Fenster Boarding School in Tucson, Arizona. In her younger years, Barbara worked in her family’s business, Douglass Clothiers, and ran The Branch, a store that the family added to their existing space. She loved the life a retailer on Lake Avenue and left only after she became disabled with multiple sclerosis.

She made a new life for herself at her Lakeside home where at various times, she could be spotted riding on her jet-ski, feeding the ducks and geese that liked her little cove on the lake, or tending to the many potted flowers that she kept on her deck. Sometimes, she could be found tooling around on her mobility scooter visiting Storm Lake’s outlet dam, which she kept under some pretty consistent supervision.

She loved her dogs, Mokie, Fifi, and Gucci, the latter two of which were standard poodles that became her constant companions as she centered her life more on staying home.

She, valiantly, battled MS throughout the rest of her years, typically saying “it’s only MS,” and many of her mourners will be able to say she never wavered from that. When she finally had to move to a nursing facility, she accepted her condition and became one of the favorite residents. Comfortable and content in her final moments, she kept her devotional book by her side. Not alone, she saw her passing as a personal victory. As a founding member of Patients Out of Time, she served for eighteen years on the board of this non-profit advocacy group for medical cannabis.

Those left to cherish her memory include her significant other, Steve Ross, of Lakeside, Iowa; her daughter, Michelle (Mike) Scionti, of New York, New York; her half-brother, Ron (Jeri) Dreyer, of Denison, Iowa; her half-sister, Janet (Ken) Johnson, of Kanab, Utah; and her grandchildren, Leo and Olivia.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Friday, August 31, 2018, at 1:30 p.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake. The family requests that memorials be directed to Fonda Specialty Care, 607 Queen Street, Fonda, Iowa 50540, or to the family of Barbara Douglass. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements.

Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Homes, Storm Lake, Iowa 2018.

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