Beloved wife, mother, grandmother and sister, Barbara Ruth Chastain went into the presence of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, on May 5, 2012. She was born June 18, 1933, in Mount Holly, NJ to Clarence R. and Ruth D. Maus. At age five, her family moved to Southern California where Barb's dad was employed as an aeronautical engineer and designer.
Barbara met Dick Chastain in junior high when, in order to get a ride home after a track meet, the only free seat was on his lap in a car crowded with friends. They were sweethearts all through junior high and high school until graduation in 1951. Barb then started college, and Dick joined the Air Force and was stationed in England. He proposed marriage, but Barb's dad forbid it, instead wishing his daughter to finish her college degree. Barb and Dick lost touch, eventually married others, and had families. Over 50 years later, they met again at a school reunion, resumed their romance, and then eventually married on February 28, 2005.
Barbara graduated from Fresno State College with a B.A. and earned an M.A. and administrative credentials from Whitworth College in Spokane. She taught special education classes for the Spokane School District starting in 1967 for six years. She then advanced to assistant superintendent for Central Valley School District for 19 years as Director of the Cooperative for Special Education until her retirement in June of 1992 (Runberg). The ballroom at the Red Lion Inn on Sullivan was full to capacity for her retirement celebration!
She began her early teaching career at various schools all across the United States and even the South Pacific where she and her first husband worked for the U.S. Government as English teachers for two years. In 1964, their family, including three children ages 8, 6, and 3, were the only non-natives living on a remote island in the South Pacific Micronesian Islands of Truk. Their small home was built over the foundation of a Japanese bathhouse from WWII. It had a generator for electric light bulbs at night, drinking water fed by a tank from the tin roof, and no refrigeration. Her courage to live in this extremely remote location raising small children is awe inspiring!
In 1966, they moved to Stowe, VT, again working as teachers. The family learned to ski and met Maria Von Trapp made famous by the Sound of Music musical. In 1967, they loaded a U-Haul truck and their car with all their belongings, including a pet hamster and pregnant cat, and headed for Seattle. They got as far as Coeur d'Alene, ID, where the cat decided to give birth in a drawer in the motel and the hamster exhibited signs of heat exhaustion. Barb placed the hamster in cool water and massaged it until it was revived, much to the relief of the kids. They stayed for the summer and enjoyed the idyllic beaches and park. The kids got new bikes and rode the vintage carnival rides of Playland Pier. August found them moving to Spokane, finally settling into the home that Barb so loved near the Little Spokane River with a creek running through a large, two-acre yard.
Throughout her life, Barbara continued to enjoy travel, even returning to the South Pacific Islands of Truk where she had lived. In 1983, she visited Palau, Ponepe, Yap, Truk, Hawaii, and Japan. In 1985, she took her dad on a roadtrip from Spokane to his hometown of Schell City, Missouri, by way of the Badlands of South Dakota, Mt. Rushmore, and the Custer Battlefield. As the years went by, she also visited the Cayman Islands, Greece, Macau, spent time on Oceanic Society research expeditions where she visited the Galpagos Islands, and once even helped count pink dophins in the Amazon River. She climbed to the top of the Machu Piccu ruins in Peru, toured Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Equador, Australia, New Zealand, Figi, Belize, Costa Rica, sailed through the Panama Canal, toured France, Holland, and Belium. Barb and her youngest brother, Clarence, took a trip to Hong Kong together. Other trips closer to home included New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Boston, plus Canada and Mexico. In later years, she would spend winters in Guatemala and Arizona.
After retirement, Barbara volunteered with the Guild School and Hospice of Spokane. She was a member of the American Association of University Women and had many great friends within the organization. She and her husband sponsored children in Guatemala and were privileged to be able to visit them in person.
She raised her three children in Spokane and was so thankful they all remained in Spokane. She lived in her home until just a few weeks before her death as was her wish.
Barb is survived by her husband, Dick Chastain; her three children, Suzanne Markham and husband, Paul, Rebecca Casto and husband, Tom, and Jon Harms and wife, Denise; her two brothers, Chris and wife, Debbie, and Clarence and wife, Suzy, and their children. The loves of her life are her grandchildren, Renae, Jon, and Rachel Casto, Sarah, Steven, and Annie Harms.
She desired to be remembered with this simple phrase: "She loved and was loved!"
Visitation will be Friday, May 11, 2012, from 1:00 to 8:00 PM with funeral services on Saturday, May 12, at 1:00 PM at Hazen & Jaeger Funeral Home, 1306 N. Monroe St., in Spokane. Memorial gifts may be made to the Hospice House of Spokane, www.hospiceofspokane.org.
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