Our Beloved Momma Barbara Jo Burris passed on Monday, April 18, 2022 at Cottage on Vine Nursing Home in Murray, Utah. She had suffered a stroke in February of 2020 and her health had steadily declined up to her passing. We will miss her.

Barbara was born in the Army Hospital in Fort Sill, Oklahoma to Master Sergeant Joseph Ollie Eastham 'Joe' and Selma Mae Bowen Eastham. An only child by circumstance, her parents prized her. She was so smart and loved to learn and her father doted on her. She learned to read music and played piano, was a Rainbow Girl and Y club member and distinguished herself in High School earning good citizenship accolades and perfect, 100, marks all three years. She made friendships that lasted a lifetime.

She attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas in the Sigma Kappa Sorority on a full-ride scholarship receiving a Bachelor of Science and finishing with a Medical Technologist Degree from UCLA Medical Center. She worked at UCLA Medical and excelled, turning down an offer to attend Medical School via scholarship. She married in 1964 and had her first child, Michael in 1969. After her move to Salt Lake City, Utah, son David and daughter Melissa followed.

Barbara raised three kids, worked a demanding career as Assistant Director of the Blood Bank at St. Marks and served as church librarian all on her own. She was grounded in the here and now, always pragmatic and imbued with purpose. She kept her family warm and loved.

Barbara loved books and cats. She loved to garden, crochet, scrapbooking, genealogy and kept regular correspondence with all her relatives and friends throughout her life. As her kids became more independent, she started to travel and became a Travel Agent to share her love of new places. She visited Scandinavia, Greece, Egypt, Italy, England, Jerusalem, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, The Panama and Erie Canals, floated the Danube and on and on. The family travelled with her on occasion making memories that will last forever.

Barbara loved chocolate, cheese and walking around barefoot. She disliked idleness and philosophical dribble. She chose action above all else. She got things done. She will be missed and we are so grateful for who she was and that she lived and showed her love by action day in and day out.