Barbara Ruth Bailey Wellner

Born May 29, 1936 in Oakland, California

Died August 10, 2021 in Mesa, Arizona

We mourn the passing away of Barbara Ruth Bailey Wellner and celebrate the time she spent with us.

Barbara was a list maker extraordinaire, so here’s a short list of maxims that guided her in life:

Try new things and become very, very good at them (pastry crust, knitting, quilting, souffle, tennis, pickleball, Wii-bowling). Excel in school (read way above your grade level, skip a grade or two, and at age 17, enter Stanford with honors to study economics). Be a loyal friend and neighbor, and give to others (deliver banana bread and cookies, always). Love nature and be out in it often (riding horses, gardening, birding, hiking, golfing, watching sunsets and weather).

Cheer others on in their interests, sports and talents. Have a sense of humor and enjoy sharing it. Be brave and have adventures, even if you hike all morning just to see the car with lunch in it on the other side of a “small” lake. After your quilts have been on magazine covers and the Today show, and you’ve made everyone a quilt, keep making them for sick babies. Amaze the tax accountant and computer tech when you correct them – in your 80s. (Friends and family are never surprised.) Play with your little grandchildren on the floor and make memories with them as they get older.

We will greatly miss our dear sister, mother, aunt, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend. She brought color, wit and a sparkle into our lives, which will now be dimmer by degrees. May we remember her exceptional self and honor her life in our memories and prayers.

The funeral service for Barbara is Monday, August 16, 2021 at 3 p.m. at St. Ignatius Orthodox Christian Church, 2402 N. Usery Pass Road, Mesa, AZ 85207. She will be buried at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 23029 N Cave Creek Rd, Phoenix AZ 85024, with her husband who preceded her in death.