Barbara Dunn Kuhl

After a long and vibrant life, Barbara Dunn Kuhl joined her Savior and Lord in Heaven on Wednesday, the 14th of December 2016. She was a devoted mother and loving wife, as well as a compassionate friend and confidant to the many who loved and cherished her. Her elegance was always abundant and her wisdom and advice brought comfort and joy to the many who sought it.

Born into a well-known Irish-English family in Boston, Massachusetts, on the 26th of April 1922, Barbara was the baby sister to three doting brothers and two adoring sisters. She spent much of her early years shuttling between Boston and New York attending the fairs, plays, musicals, films, and events connected with her successful and industrious brothers. Her blossoming style, glamour, and beauty only enhanced her charming presence, making her one of New England’s most eligible young women.

When the United States entered the war in 1941, she went to work for the War Production Board, the federal agency overseeing the massive conversion of domestic materials for wartime needs. Women were critical to this stateside effort, and she bravely and energetically embraced the difficult job. She did this while completing her undergraduate education at Fisher College. During this time and right after the war, she met many service personnel and helped New England undertake its role as host to major Navy and Air Force facilities and operations. Here she ultimately met the love of her life, Phil Kuhl, then a young Air Force officer and pilot. In 1950, the couple wed in a dazzling ceremony in Boston.

Moving to Washington D.C. for assignment at the Pentagon, Barbara and Phil started their own family with the birth of son, John, and daughter, Pam. The family then traveled extensively in government service, living and working in numerous countries in the Far East. Barbara was the perfect match for the diplomatic and social protocols in those foreign environs, again strongly supporting her husband and country.

Returning to the States, the couple completed their government service and moved to Texas establishing themselves in the booming real estate market of Fort Worth. Barbara immediately excelled as a top sales producer, becoming a distinguished broker in the rapid residential development of the West side of Fort Worth.

Her travels, government work, and real estate career, however, never detracted from her role as an incredible mother. She loved her children passionately, and constantly put their needs and well-being far ahead of her own. In later life, she and Phil would spend more and more time in Houston to be with their children.

Barbara ultimately moved to Houston and started another phase of her life. She made many extraordinary friends on the West side of Houston and in the Four Leaf Towers where she lived and played. As always, she brought style and grace to all she did, and was treasured for it by her new friends.

Barbara is predeceased by her husband, the late Col. Philip John Kuhl; and by her parents, the late Mr. John J. Dunn and Mrs. Helen M. Dunn; by her brothers, the late Mr. Joseph A. Dunn, Mr. John F. Dunn, and Mr. J. Curtis Dunn; by her sisters, the late Mrs. Rita M. Cullinane and Ms. Helen M. Dunn. She is survived by her son, Mr. Philip John Kuhl, Jr.; and her daughter, Mrs. Pamela Kuhl-Linscomb and her husband, Mr. Daniel J. Linscomb; and many nieces and nephews and their children.

The family would like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Ron Galfione for his care and attention in Barbara’s final years and to her amazing caretakers directed by Ms. Sonia Tenas, including Ms. Maria Gutierrez, Ms. Marta Rosales, and Ms. Irma Salinas, for the excellent and loving care.

A memorial service will be conducted at ten o’clock in the morning on Friday, the 6th of January, at St. Michael Catholic Church, 1801 Sage Road in Houston, where Fr. Wayne Wilkerson, Pastor, is to officiate. Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception to be held in the nearby Parish Life Center.

The family will gather for a private interment at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia at a later date.

For those desiring, in lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be directed to Discalced Carmelite Nuns, 5801 Mt. Carmel Drive, Arlington, TX 76017-4202; or St. Michael Catholic Church, 1801 Sage Rd., Houston, TX 77056; or to the charity of one’s choice.