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Obituary (CA): Mrs. Barbara (John B. Haines '45)

Posted on 06/26/2018

Barbara Wilson Bobbie' Haines  (October 6, 1924 - May 29, 2018)

Barbara Wilson Haines, age 93 and 8 months, passed quietly in her home in La Jolla, California on May 29, 2018. Barbara was born on October 6, 1924 in St. Louis, Missouri to Katherine and Lewis (Woody) Edwin Wilson. She was an only child and the light of her parents' life. Later, the family moved to San Diego, when Barbara was very young and where her father worked for General Motors. Her mother was a stay-at-home wife and mother. Barbara was working as a dental hygienist in San Diego when she met LT John B. Haines, who was stationed there in 1946. Soon after they met, John began calling her "Bobbie," a nickname that lasted the rest of her life! They were married within three months of meeting each other. Barbara gave birth to Daniel Wilson Haines, their first child, while her husband, John, was stationed in Key West in 1948. In 1950, their second child, Kathryn Louise Haines, was born in Annapolis, Maryland. During a tour back in San Diego, Barbara gave birth to John Beverly Haines, Jr. in 1957. The family subsequently moved to Newport, Rhode Island, where her husband John attended the Naval War College. Barbara managed the home and the children. Around 1961, the family moved to Springfield, Virginia, and when her husband retired from the Navy as a Commander in 1964, they settled there. Barbara and John were very involved with the Springfield Grace Presbyterian Church, where they were both in the choir; her husband served as Deacon/Elder, and Barbara was active with women's groups. In one of her groups, Barbara and several other women dressed up as clowns and visited terminally ill children at the local hospital. Barbara was a stay-at-home Mom and a wonderful wife to her husband. As a Navy wife, she often took over all family responsibilities while her husband was deployed. Tragically, in 1974 her husband John was killed in a commercial plane crash. She kept the family together and continued to keep the family beach house in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina for many years of family vacations. In 1979, she moved to La Jolla, California to care for her elderly parents who lived in San Diego. While in La Jolla, Barbara reconnected with lifelong high school friends, continued to be active in the La Jolla Presbyterian Church Choir, and travelled the world with the choir and friends. She is survived by Dan and his wife Kathy and their daughter Nathalie; Kathy and her husband Bob; and John and Terri and his two children, Nicholas and Alexandra. She was a wonderful "Grambobbie" to her three grandchildren. The family is planning a memorial service at La Jolla Presbyterian Church to celebrate the life of Barbara and there is much to celebrate.

Published in The San Diego Union Tribune from June 20 to June 23, 2018