Barbara J. Lord
October 7, 1930 - March 10, 2014

Barbara Jeanne Lord died in the early morning hours of Monday, March 10, at the Unity Hospice with her daughter and beloved companion dog by her side. Barbara was born Oct. 7, 1930, in Duluth, Minnesota. She was the second of three children born to Walter and Lilia Dartt. The family moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, three weeks after Barbara was born and she lived in the Fox River Valley for the rest of her life

She attended Howard Elementary School and in 1948 graduated from West High School where she met George Joseph Lord, a dashing veteran who returned to high school after serving in the Navy in the closing days of World War II. They married in 1948 and in 1949 Barbara gave birth to their first child, Linda. Three years later she and George were expecting their second child when she lost the nearly full-term baby boy.
The following year George's health began to decline because of chronic kidney disease and he died in 1955, leaving Barbara and her daughter on their own. She never remarried.

Barbara got a job as a residential service representative at the Wisconsin Telephone Company. She worked in the Adams Street office until taking a promotion to supervisor and moving to Appleton in 1962. She focused on providing a house and home for her daughter.
Five years later, she was promoted to the telephone company's commercial office and moved to Oshkosh. In 1972, Barbara was transferred to the company's marketing program and became the company's first woman marketing representative in the state.

She retired in 1986 and enjoyed the nearly three decades of her retirement in a variety of recreational and service activities She was an active member of the Telephone Pioneers, a group of telephone company/AT&T retirees who worked on numerous volunteer projects throughout Wisconsin. She also became deeply involved in developing her skills at painting and was an active member of the Brown County Watercolor Guild where she made another group of fast friends who painted together for decades.

Barbara, whose grandparents were Norwegian immigrants, was active in the Sons of Norway and she celebrated her heritage at family gatherings by reciting a prayer before meals in Norwegian. She and good friends traveled extensively throughout the United States and Europe during the early years of her retirement. As she got older she limited her travel and bought a fluffy little dog she named Brutus. He became her companion and made her smile.

Barbara was a lifelong member of the St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Green Bay.

She is survived by her daughter, Linda Lord-Jenkins (Paul) of Eagle River, Ak.; grandsons, Joshua (Charity) Jenkins of Reno, Nv., Zachary Jenkins, Eagle River, Ak., and David Setum of Forrest Park, Il.; great-granddaughters Haydyn and Raegan of Reno, Nv., brother-in-law Michael (Lynn) Lord of Punta Gorda, Fla.; nephews and nieces Mike (Janet) Nilles, Minneapolis, Mn, Tom (Barbara) Nilles, Minneapolis, Richard (Carol) Niles, Minneapolis, Jon (Annette) Dartt, Indianapolis, Ind., Bruce Dartt, Green Bay, Cathie (Billie) Kandravi, Tulsa, Ok., Chris (Jerry) Jessick, Michelle Lord, and Yvonne (Todd) Thomas, all of Green Bay; Jerry (Lori) Lord, San Diego, Anita Murphy, San Diego; Janet (James) Watkins, San Diego, Deborah (Denny) Price, Iowa Falls, Ia.; Peggy Liebergen, Tom Hacker, Susan (Gary Cormier) John Hacker, Kenneth Hacker, Steve (Molly) Hacker, and Patty (Tom) Anderson; and, dozens of great-nieces and nephews.

Barbara was preceded in death by her husband, George, her son, George III, her parents, Walter and Lilia Dartt, her sister and brother-in-law, Beverly and Ron Nilles, brother, Ken Dartt, brother-in-law Jerome Lord, and sister-in-Law Kathleen Satterlee.

The funeral viewing will be at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 341 Wilson Avenue, Green Bay from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 15 with the funeral to follow at noon with Rev. Diane Rew officiating. Entombment will be at Fort Howard Mausoleum. Online condolences may be expressed at www.lyndahl.com.

In lieu of flowers Barbara has asked that contributions be given to the Salvation Army Wisconsin/upper Michigan homeless shelter, to the Brown County Humane Society animal shelter, and to the Northwestern Memorial Foundation, Chicago, Ill., to provide funding for the Kovlar Organ Transplantation Center for the benefit of the comprehensive Kidney Transplantation Program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago.

Barbara's family would like to give special appreciation to the staff of Unity Hospice who cared for her in the last days of her life; and to the staff of Autumn's Promise assisted Living, where she lived shortly before her death. The family would also like to give loving appreciation to Barbara's dear friends who became her in-town family and who gave loving comfort to Barbara and Linda in her final days: Lois Ullmer, Laurelle Smith, Amy and Paul Eliason, Joan Reynolds, and Ginny Hime.

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