Janice Hood Barrow

Humor and laughter were always present around Jan. She first met Thomas D. Barrow at Stanford University in 1948 on a blind date as part of an elaborate practical joke to be played on a friend of Tom’s. The joke was soon forgotten, but Tom proposed on their quickly scheduled second date. “Certainly not!” she replied, but the couple were married in September of 1950 after Jan graduated with her degree in political science. Soon thereafter, they began a nomadic life together that lasted 61 years and took them to four California cities, New Orleans, two cities in Connecticut, and four times to Houston. Jan would need her sense of humor to survive all the moves and the four children she bore and raised along the way.

Christian faith was the bedrock of Jan and Tom’s life together. Jan was raised in Portland in a devout Baptist family. After marrying, Jan and Tom embraced the Episcopal Church as the spiritual home in which to nurture their faith and raise their children. Jan was never satisfied to follow when leadership was needed, and she was active in every church community the couple joined. At St. Edmunds in San Marino, California she served as President of the Episcopal Church Women and as a founding Trustee of the St. Edmunds Day School. She was a Vestrywoman at Christ Church in Greenwich, Connecticut and at Christ Church Cathedral in Houston, Texas, where she chaired the Search Committee for a new Dean at the time.

In between raising the children and managing the home, Jan was an active volunteer in every community in which the family lived. Early in her married life, Jan became a member of the Junior League of Pasadena. Wherever the family moved, Jan joined the Junior League and was particularly active in New Orleans and Houston, having a particular interest in the League’s Well Baby Clinic. Her active community service culminated in co-chairing the Houston Job Fair in the Astrodome. Jan’s commitment to service extended to the medical arts as well. She was a dedicated supporter of Houston Methodist Hospital and a founding Director of the hospital’s Center for Performing Arts Medicine. She served as a Director of the Houston Speech and Hearing Clinic and as a Director of AWARE, an organization dedicated to Alzheimer’s disease support and research.

Jan’s modest appraisal of her own talents aside, music, particularly classical music was her passion. First exposed to world-class orchestral and operatic music at Stanford and in San Francisco, Jan’s love for fine music grew greater throughout her life and led to years of volunteer service with orchestras across the country. In New Orleans, she helped to organize the Junior Committee of the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra and served as its second President. She then became a Director of the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra. In Houston Jan and Tom sponsored dozens of both aspiring and established musicians at the Houston Grand Opera Studio and the Houston Symphony. Connecting with these artists was one of her greatest joys, and she maintained those friendships for life. To help promote music education and love for classical music in future generations, Jan served as a Trustee of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. Jan’s active support of the fine arts was capped by a two-year term as President of the Houston Symphony Society, to which she was later honored as a Lifetime Trustee.

If music was her passion, travel and adventure were Jan’s joys. She always considered it a great privilege to live in so many parts of the country, understanding and enjoying its diversity. Whether for work or for pleasure, Jan and Tom covered the globe together. She visited all seven continents and over one hundred countries. At home was a map of the world, dotted with stickpins to show every destination. Each pin could stimulate an evening of stories and happy memories of adventures with family and friends. She also reveled in the travel adventures that she inspired her children and grandchildren to pursue.

Jan was preceded in death by her parents, Lucile Loyd Hood and Wilbur Kenneth Hood, and her husband, Thomas Davies Barrow.

She is survived by her sister, Barbara Conner of Portland, Oregon; sons, Ted Barrow and wife Clare of San Diego, California, and Ken Barrow and wife Donna of Denver, Colorado; daughters, Barbara McCelvey and husband Pat, and Elizabeth Brueggeman and husband Mark, both of Houston; beloved niece, Gayle Aman and husband Bob; grandchildren, Jane Barrow and husband Steve, Tom Barrow and wife Rebecca, Sarah Barrow and husband Eric Smith, Lee Barrow and wife Betsy, James McCelvey and wife Crystal, Daniel McCelvey and wife Laurie, Eric Brueggeman, Peter Brueggeman, and Kevin Brueggeman and wife Adair; grand-niece, Kathleen Moffitt and husband Chad; and nine great-grandchildren.

The family expresses their heartfelt gratitude to Norma Sarmiento and Linda Canning for their many years of service, support, and friendship to Jan.

Friends are cordially invited to gather with the family and share remembrances of Jan during a reception to be held from five o’clock in the afternoon until seven o’clock in the evening on Sunday, the 29th of January, in the grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

A memorial service is to be conducted at three o’clock in the afternoon on Monday, the 30th of January, in the sanctuary of Christ Church Cathedral, 1117 Texas Ave in Houston. KINDLY NOTE: For those unable to attend the service, virtual attendance may be accessed by visiting Jan's online memorial tribute at GeoHLewis.com and selecting the "Join Livestream" icon on the service section. While there, you may also share memories and words of comfort and condolence with her family by selecting the “Add A Memory” icon.

In lieu of customary remembrances, and for those desiring, memorial contributions may be directed to Christ Church Cathedral, 1117 Texas Avenue, Houston, TX 77002; or to the Houston Symphony, 615 Louisiana Street, Suite 102, Houston, TX 77002; or to the charity of one’s choice.

Jan will be remembered for the values by which she lived and for the graciousness she shared with all whom she met.