Barbara Jean McKean, 14 Aug 1931 – 19 Mar 2013

MCKEAN, JONES, WOLFORD

Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 4/2/2013 at 14:44:39

Barbara McKean, 81

Barbara McKean, 81, Salt Lake City, Utah, died March 19, 2013, in Salt Lake City from complications of diabettes.

Internment will be at a future date in Armstrong Grove Cemetery, Emmet County, Iowa.

Barbara Jean McKean was born Aug. 14, 1931, in Iowa City, the fourth of six children of Wesley Jones and Bonnie Wolford. Her classic American childhood on the family farm in northwest Iowa including pumping her own well water, attending a one-room school house, riding horses and helping out with farming and domestic chores. In her teens and 20s, she roller skated and danced to the classic swing bands at the ballrooms on the shores of Spirit Lake. She attended Hamilton Business College in Mason City and worked in various clerical and office managerial positions throughout her life while raising a family. She retired from her work as an executive secretary at the University of Utah’s College of Nursing in 1996.

She married Lowell McKean June 10, 1951. The couple lived in New Orleans for the next two years while he was stationed there during the Korean War. His work with agriculture in the public and private sectors led them to settle in Omaha, Neb., and various towns in Iowa over the next 30 years.

The family lived in Marengo from 1972 to 1986 when he was the Iowa County Extension director and she worked at the Iowa County Assessor’s Office.

Their children, Becky, Randy and Ray, graduated from Iowa Valley High School. The couple moved to Salt Lake City in 1986 when he began work at the USDA’s statistics bureau. He died in 2001.

Ever social, she was quick with a laugh and always enjoyed getting other people’s “life stories.”

She was an active member of the Presbyterian Church and the women’s philanthropic organization, PEO. She instilled a love of learning and the arts in her children. She was a big supporter of their activities, attending countless music recitals and art openings through the years, which contributed to their later success in those fields.

At the end, she chose to return to her roots.

One of her last requests was “I need my saddle.” Brother Ken subsequently observed she must have been planning to travel far, as she had always ridden bareback. Happy trails, Barbara.

McKean is survived by one brother, Ken; five children and many grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

The Williamsburg Journal Tribune, Iowa County Obituaries, 28 Mar 2013