Ramona Esther Barnard

Our beautiful and beloved wife and mother, Ramona Esther Lenaburg Barnard died Sunday morning October 27, 2013 at home from metastatic non-smoker’s lung cancer. She was diagnosed with lung cancer in June 2011 and fought bravely and with optimism until the very end. Her heartbroken family includes her husband of 66 years, James Barnard, daughters Claudia Barnard and Karen Martz (Glenn), grandsons Kyle Voge; (Sarah) and Ryan Voge (Jessica), granddaughter Kendra Martz, great-grand children Natalie, Lucas and Owen Voge, and several nieces and nephews.

Our mother’s first priority was her family. She always treated us with love and respect. She encouraged us to be the best that we could be, and to share our gifts and resources with others. We are her legacy.

Mom loved to dance, to golf, to bowl, to play any and all card games and win, to salmon fish and catch the most and biggest salmon, to bake delicious pies for family and friends, to learn to play the piano as an adult which was something her family could not afford as a child, to watch any and all sports events and especially root for the Oregon State Beavers, the Portland Trailblazers, and Phil Mickelson. She enjoyed traveling especially with her husband, friends and family - she was always amazed at the number of states and countries that she visited with our dad.

Mom was born in White, South Dakota on July 15, 1925 to Ida and John Lenaburg. She was the 8th of 9 children. She graduated from Salem High School in 1943 and then worked as a dental assistant for a Salem dentist for three years. She met our dad through her brother Kenny - dad and Uncle Kenny both attended Oregon State University on the GI Bill. She married our father on August 30, 1947 and moved to Corvallis where she worked in the OSU Comptroller’s office while dad finished college. Our parents moved to Beaverton in 1949 when our dad took a teaching job at Beaverton High School. In 1953, dad and his partner, Elwyn Kinney formed a building contracting firm, Barnard and Kinney, and mom worked as the secretary/bookkeeper/unofficial “CFO” for 22 years before retiring in July 1984. In her retirement years she volunteered with Loaves and Fishes, served on several church committees, participated in golf and bowling leagues, traveled with our dad, and gave love and counsel to her grandchildren. She was a life-long Lutheran, and an active member of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church.

A private burial will be held the morning of Saturday November 9th at Sunset Hills Memorial Park, followed by a memorial service at 1:30 pm that afternoon at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, 13401 SW Benish St., Tigard, Oregon. Our family suggests that in lieu of flowers, remembrances be made in her name to support the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. Please make checks payable to the OHSU Foundation and mail to: Mail Stop 45, PO Box 4000, Portland, OR 97208-9852 or visit http://www.ohsu.edu/knightcancerchallenge/.