Rosa Mae Barton

A child of the Great Depression, she was born on February 24, 1933 in Albion, Oklahoma, the daughter of Clarence Edmond Brown and Dollie Mae Brown (nee McFarlin).

As a young girl, Rosa along with some the family lived in Camp Linnell, California. The family and other migrants picked fruit to survive.

Eventually Rosa returned to Oklahoma where she met and married Lester C. Barton in 1950. From that union she would give birth to two sons, Michael George Barton ad David Paul Barton.

A devoted military spouse her husband’s service often required frequent relocation to such places as the Philippines, South Carolina, Florida, Oklahoma, and New Jersey.

A scholar at heart she graduated with an Associate’s degree from Fairleigh Dickenson University in Hackensack, New Jersey. She had also attended the University of the Philippines during her time there.

She was a member of MENSA. While living in New Jersey, she worked for the Grand Union Company in Elmwood Park for twenty years, retiring as an Assistant Produce Buyer. Rosa volunteered for many years with the Antlers Public Library. While there she helped earn a Gates Foundation Grant to establish the library’s first computer lab.

Her interest in genealogy let to many research trips across the country, leading her to becoming a member of the Daughter’s of the American Revolution. She proudly served in elected capacity with the Kiamichi Country Chapter. Rosa was also a member of the Colonial Dames.

Rosa is survived by her husband Lester C. Barton, her son Michael G. Barton, her sister Audrey Motley, her brother-in-law Harold Motley and many nieces, nephews, and friends too numerous to name.

Rosa was preceded in death by her parents, her son David Paul Barton, her brothers Paul Edmond Brown, Ernest David Brown, Larkin Daniel Brown, and her sisters Florence Marie Fladby, and Jane Marion Lewis.

A visitation for Rosa will be held Thursday, March 20, 2025 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Baggerley Funeral Home, 930 South Broadway, Edmond, OK 73034.

A graveside service will occur Friday, March 21, 2025 at 12:00 PM at Gracelawn Cemetery, 1407 North Blvd, Edmond, OK.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Rosa’s memory may be directed to Salvation Army at salvationarmyo.org