Marion Louise (Lueck) Barr's Obituary
Marion Louise (Leack) Barr, 94, died in Honolulu at One Kalakaua Senior Living on May 13, 2018. She is survived by her daughters Leslie Vargas (Jorge), Roslyn Swick, Wendy Barr (Ian Drewett) and Holly McGee (Scott), grandson Jacob Swick (Jamie), granddaughter Sarah Swick (Wael Qassim), and 5 great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband Burton of Honolulu HI, her sister Lorraine Stevens and her parents, of Lidgerwood, ND.
She was born March 9, 1924 in rural Lidgerwood, ND. After graduating from Lidgerwood High School in 1942, Marion attended Ellendale Normal School and received her Teachers Certificate. She taught in rural Richland County schools for 2 years before attending Dakota Business College in Fargo, ND for a year. Marion enjoyed her secretarial work for insurance agencies in Lidgerwood and Fargo but by 1950 she had started working for the IRS in Fargo.
On March 18, 1951 Marion wed Burton Barr in the Lutheran Church at Lidgerwood. Following the wedding, Burton went on active duty with the ND Air National Guard. In July Marion joined Burton at Moody AFB, Valdosta, GA and found immediate employment at the Base. In November they were transferred to George AFB Victorville, CA but they resided in San Bernadino until late December 1952. With 4 daughters born between 1952 and 1960, Marion became a stay-at-home mom as they moved for Burton’s career with the USDA. They lived in Fargo, ND (1953-1958), West Lafayette, IN (1958-1963), and Topeka, KS (1963-1968) where Marion and Burton fulfilled a dream by purchasing an 80 acre farm near Dover, KS. Marion’s lifelong love of animals was evident in how she nurtured the livestock (practically hand-raising every cow, pig, and horse). But dogs were her absolute favorites and while raising 2 litters of poodles, Marion did more work tending the puppies than the actual mother! She passed this love of dogs on to her daughters and she took great joy in all their pets through the years.
In 1968 they moved to Largo, MD for Burton’s assignment to the Census Bureau in Suitland. With all their daughters in school, Marion was able to go back to work at the local community college near their home. For the next 17 years, she loved her position as secretary to the English Division of Prince Georges Community College. When Burton retired from the USDA in August, 1985, they decided to move to Rehoboth Beach, DE (where they had a vacation home) so Marion reluctantly retired also. With an analytical intelligence, Marion excelled at playing bridge, handicapping horse races, and picking winners on the stock market.
For the next 20 years, they were able to travel the globe making the most of retirement. With their daughters well-established in successful careers but living all around the USA and Europe, they often combined their travels with family visits.
Marion loved her home and garden in Rehoboth Beach (as a certified Master Gardener she liked to show off whatever plants were in bloom) but they would escape to a condo in Honolulu for the winter months. In June 2008 they sold their home in DE and moved full time to Hawaii.
Marion was always active in her local communities - supporting AARP, PTA's, NARFE, OES, Bridge Clubs, Country Clubs, Presbyterian Churches, Yacht Club's in Hawaii and the Community Organizations.
Burial was on Friday June 8, 2018 at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe, Hawaii.
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