Mrs. Barbara Lee (Whitaker) Young

“Seeing is believing.” For many, those words simply represent a motto. But for Barbara Lee (Whitaker) Young, it summarized in every way who she was. She was modest, quiet and observant, taking in everything around her and always thinking before acting. She was a realist, someone who was efficient and practical in everything she did. She was a friendly person who truly loved and cared for her family and those around her..

Barbara was born on December 4, 1931 at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton Ohio. She was the oldest daughter of Ella Marie (Wright) and Wilber Warren Whitaker. At birth she weighed 4 lbs. and 3 oz., She said that she was so small that her parents placed her in a dresser drawer to keep her warm. Raised in Miamisburg Ohio she was brought up to be tolerant and trustworthy. Barbara would recall that since neither of her parents drove, how they would walk to church every Sunday. They would walk from their home located at 423 N. 4th St. to church on 5th St. (across from Veteran's Memorial Park), she would talk about how much fun it was as they walked and talked to all the neighbors sitting on their front porches. As a child, she learned to be conscientious, responsible and punctual. That sister Bill and her would walk to school (at the time all the schools were on sixth street) and that they were told to stay together and look out for one another. Barbara would talk about how when the weather was good they would both walk home for lunch during school. She said that her Mom would hand sew some of the prettiest dresses for them to wear to school, and that they always made her feel so pretty. These traits along with caring were all things that she would carry with her throughout her life.

As a young girl, Barbara was always aware of how others around her felt and this quality served her well. With a deep capacity to tolerate the feelings of others, Barbara was generally able to avoid conflicts. It seemed as if Barbara was the family member who was always working to keep stress at bay. Preferring a quiet environment where she could concentrate, she also had the ability to relate well with her family and friends. Barbara was raised with 3 Sisters, Wilberta Ann (Bill) Chamberlain, Marie Susan (Sue) Whitaker and Patricia (Patti) Jane Whitaker. Barbara was constantly involved in activities with school and her family. Over the years Barbara and her siblings had their typical rivalries while growing up, but they always cared and loved one another. She would laugh and tell the story of how Billie bought her a chocolate bunny when she was in high school. Barbara was going to save it though, because she thought it was such a sweet gesture from him; only to come home from school one day and find that her sister Patti who was only six at the time had bitten its head off. Even though Barbara and her sisters may have had their differences over the years they cared deeply for each other and shared many life experiences over the years.

Growing up, Barbara was one of those children who didn’t need to be in the center of a whirlwind of activity. She was content to entertain herself. Barbara was never pushy when it came to games and other activities, but was able to enjoy the pure fun these could bring In just about everything she did as a child. Barbara was intent on pleasing both the adults and the other children around her. Barbara took part in a number of activities as a child such as bike riding and swimming. (at the time the swimming pool was located at 550 S. First St.). Though she never played any sports she always enjoyed going to watch the football and basketball games with her friends. Barbara would recall spending many summers over at her grandma and grandpa Emma and Walter Wright's House in Winchester Indiana with her sister Bill as children. She said Bill and her would walk up to the center of town to get ice cream and candy, or set in front of her grandparents house and wave to the people as they went by coming from the Winchester speedway and get them to beep their horns and wave and talk to them. Barbara would talk often about the great love she had for her grandparents, and the special times she spent there with them.

Barbara would talk about the time the whole family went to Berry Kentucky to see her Dad's parents Effie and Zurich Whitaker. That they would ride a train from Miamisburg to Cincinnati, then to Berry. She said at the time the train was so full of passengers from men in the service, that they had to set on the outside of the train car against the door and hold on to the railings. Barbara spoke how she didn't get to see her grandpa and grandma Whitaker as much as she did her other grandparents because they had to take a train to get there. That her grandparents in Indiana had a car and could come pick them up and bring them back to Miamisburg, where her grandparents in Kentucky never drove. Barbara would talk about as a child the war was going on and that times were tough, and how a lot of people were out of work. That companies began manufacturing things to help out in the war effort that they didn't usually make i.e. her Dad worked for NCR Cash Register as a wood worker at the time, but they quit making cash registers and started producing parts for the service. She would talk fondly about how her mom and a group of women would crochet blankets for the service men to help them stay warm. Barbara would talk about how at one point in time the Government would pay men to make sidewalks and brick streets in town and how in the corner they would put their initials so they knew who and how much to pay them. That even though times were tough, she always felt lucky because her dad was always able to continue to work. She said that her parent's both met while working at NCR (her mom worked in the cafeteria) but quit her job when she started having children.

Barbara constantly enjoyed learning new things, and always had a great memory and was particularly skilled at retaining factual information. Barbara was generally quiet in class, learning best through observation. She often showed great concentration and was competent at completing the tasks at hand. Good with details, Barbara was painstaking and accurate in her efforts. All of these talents culminated in a successful high school career. She graduated from Miamisburg High School in the class of 1950. Barbara enjoyed taking various classes in high school and enjoyed some courses more than others. Her favorite class's in high school were Math, Band and English. The teacher's she enjoyed the most were Mrs. Easton she always said that she was very friendly and easy to talk to, and Mr. Stone the band Director. Barbara, like the rest of her sisters played clarinet and enjoyed participating in the marching band for four years. She said she always enjoyed performing during the half-time shows at football games and participating in parades, and could always count on her parents sitting somewhere on the parade route watching her. Barbara said one of the biggest thrills of her senior year was when the band got to go up to Columbus and watch the Ohio State Band perform during half-time. This would lead to a life long love of the Ohio State band or as she called them (The Best Damn Band In The Land). She would get to see the band perform in concert multiple times during her lifetime. For a few years Patti and her would drive an hour and half one way to Columbus to hear the band play before the game. They would go to these Skull Sessions as they are called and watch them warm up, and then watch as they marched over to the football field and then come home. They were often kidded about being the only two who would drive all that way just to see the band, but could care less about the football game. After Billie passed away it became her Christmas tradition to listen to a CD of The Ohio State Band as she set up the Christmas decorations. Barbara was also in minstrel for four years, girls chorus for 2 years, and office for one year.

Most folks would say that Barbara was shy until they got to know her, but once you did she was really quite friendly and talkative. Those who were privileged to know her well learned that she was a solid good friend. Barbara was reluctant to generalize people, but preferred to base her friendships on her personal experiences. Because of this, Barbara best trusted those people that she truly knew. She was concerned about how those around her felt, and she always seemed to uncover the positive side of people. She could relate to others and had the ability to see their point of view, to “walk a mile in their shoes” as the saying goes. The friends that she made Barbara kept for life. Barbara (Stamm) Bishop, and Shirley (Urban) Foust who helped introduce her to Billie on a blind date were two of her closest friends in school. She was friends with Barbara (Stamm) Bishop, from second grade till Mrs. Bishop's death in 2007. They were such good friends that they would eventually buy houses down the street from one another on Carolyn Dr.

Love can’t be defined but must be experienced. That was so true for Barbara. On July 29, 1951 Barbara married Billie Young In her Grandparent's Wright house in Winchester Indiana. They would merry in Winchester because her grandparent's were elderly at the time, and she wanted them, along with the rest of her and Billie's family to be there. In Barbara's senior yearbook she wrote that her " Will in Life after Graduation" was " to spend her future with Billie " She was totally committed to Billie and maintained traditional ideas about marriage. A couple years after their marriage, Barbara would take the first big trip of her life. She would take a train and move up to Washington D.C. to be with her husband who was stationed there for the first couple years during the Korean War. She would live there a couple year's eventually returning to Miamisburg when Billie was shipped over to Korea. After his time in the service was up they would take up residence in Miamisburg at the upstairs apartment located at 823 Kercher St. (at the time there was a outside entrance). They would reside there till they moved to Carolyn Dr. (they moved to 509 Carolyn Dr. the weekend Lee Harvey Oswald was shot, 11/24/1963). Barbara and Billie would go on to be married fifty-eight years until his passing in 2006 from heart failure. It was as if Barbara naturally sensed her spouse’s needs, and accepted those feelings unconditionally. Although Barbara disliked conflict, she did not take flight from discord, but rather sought to preserve harmony even during the most trying times.

Barbara was a very good loving mother to her children over the years. Her and Billie were married for ten years before they ever had children, and more than one person over the years said they felt like once Barbara became a mother that they thought she felt whole and was happy with her life. She had “old fashioned” parental values and could handle typical family conflicts in a fair and calm manner. Because she trusted her emotions, Barbara was reluctant to force issues and used gentle persuasion to resolve situations. In this way she seemed to radiate an aura of warmth and caring to those around her, not just to her family but her nieces an nephews also; always thinking before acting. In addition Barbara was a master planner. No matter how hectic life around her might be, she would take it all in stride and go on. Barbara would laugh and say that she felt like a taxi service at times, that between running her children to baseball practice and games, basketball practice and swimming lessons down at her sister Bill's house, she felt like she was always on the road. Often If they had nothing scheduled during one of those days she would take them on picnic's at the local parks just to watch them enjoy themselves. Barbara always seemed to know and keep track of everyone’s schedule and make sure they got there on time. To help her keep track of everyone's schedule and what she had to do that day she would often write little reminders on paper i.e. boys ball game tonight, fill out insurance forms, pay bill's etc., but some were funny like fix dinner or take a shower. She was often kidded about her little notes, but in all reality she kept track of everything and made sure everyone in her family got where they were suppose to be and on time. Barbara was blessed with three sons: Dale, Duane and Darrel. She would laugh about how much of a difference there was in raising three boys, than it was growing up with three sisters. That her and her sisters never rough housed or hit on one another like boys do. She would tell the story of how she once called Billie at work because Dale and Duane were wrestling on the floor as young children and she thought they were gonna hurt one another, Billie laughed and told her their just being boys. Her reply was that my sister's and I never done anything like that as kids. Barbara was also blessed with four grandchildren, Christopher, Michael, Sarah and Melanie and eight great-grandchildren.

If you gave Barbara a deadline, she would meet it. At work, Barbara was always willing to take on a new task without hesitation, Barbara could adhere to any assignment and see it through to its completion. Barbara was employed doing office work and accounts payable at Scm Allied Egry. During that time, Barbara excelled in working with small groups in order to complete assignments. She was able to quickly grasp concrete ideas and could organize and plan the best way to accomplish things with remarkable consistency. Barbara was good at staying on track and was considerate in listening to what others had to say. In this way, Barbara had a true gift for being able to come up with practical resolutions to difficult problems. She was often the team member who managed to put forth a win/win solution for all parties. Barbara's first job was, as she called it "being a soda jerk" she would make ice cream soda's located a 1 N. Main St. she remembered enjoying the job because she got to talk to her friends and watch as they cruised up and down Main St. and around Market Square.

Barbara liked to experience things first hand, in addition to simply learning about them. This quality influenced Barbara's choice of leisure time activities. A methodical and patient worker, Barbara preferred to set aside uninterrupted time to work on her hobbies. She enjoyed sewing, baking, reading and watching classical movies with her children and grandchildren. Barbara also loved sweets and ice cream and always enjoyed taking both her children and grandchildren to the Dairy Queen or any place that had sweets. She had a routine physical one year, the doctor said everything looked good and that her A1C was fine. When he stepped out of the room for a minute she said "I have a question for him when he comes back in" Her question was she was wondering if she could have ice cream or not, the doctor laughed and said "yes you can"......"so you can stop at the Dairy Queen on your way home". Even he knew how much she liked sweets. Barbara was always content to sit quietly alone, enjoying her hobbies by herself and could often be found just reading about her favorite pastimes. In her early teens she would baby sit after school and on the weekends. She said this gave her money to go see movies. She would go to the Plaza theater located at 33 N Main St. two or three times a week. Barbara said back then they played mainly country-western movies (her favorite actors were John Wayne and Army war hero Audi Murphy). The shows would often let out around 10 p.m. and she would usually walk home by herself, or at times her mom would go with her she said. They would walk a few blocks to where they lived on 423 N. 4th street. She would talk about how it never bothered her; nor did she ever feel scared walking home that late at night. That times were simpler and neighbor's looked out for one another back then. The family would reside on N. 4th St. till the end of her junior year in high school when they would buy the house located at 315 S. Main St. (across from the Dairy Queen).

Due to her excellent organizational skills, Barbara was a welcome addition to the professional and community organizations to which she belonged. Barbara could bring established successful methods to the discussion table, along with a generous helping of common sense. Barbara was good at making and keeping schedules and never got bogged down in unnecessary details. She was practical and grounded and often based her decisions on first hand experience. Barbara was active in many organizations over the years such as her Church, the Miamisburg Senior Adult Center, Miamisburg Senior Merry Milers walking group and her high school Alumni Association where she helped organize her 50th class reunion. She was responsible and liked working to achieve results rather than chattering about possibilities Throughout her later years, Barbara was an active member in her church and was on the was on Finance Committee for many years, and helped volunteer in various community groups. I.E. when a replica of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial wall came to Miamisburg, Barbara helped people locate Veteran's names on the wall and show them how to copy them onto paper. She also volunteered at the voting polls for a few years. Politically, Barbara was a Democrat.

An individual who respected and maintained traditional values, her faith was important to Barbara. Her compassion, consideration and sympathy toward others was evident in her personal beliefs. She was a member of St. James United Methodist Church for over sixty years. During that time, she was in various church groups and committees and would often bake something for the reception hour following service; or could be seen as a greeter before church services.

Doing things to help others seemed to come naturally to Barbara. She never set out to gain individual recognition, but the praise and accolades given her for her many and varied efforts throughout her life were well deserved. As a senior citizen, she earned a award for walking 72 miles in the summer during the parades in Miamisburg and Kettering along with taking weekly walks with the Merry Milers. After Barbara quit driving she continued to enjoy going to the senior center every Wednesday for the carry in dinner's which she would always bake brownie's or cookie's for and to play bingo. They would pick her up and take her to the dinner's along with doing other things like taking trips to Jungle Jim's Grocery or to go see the Christmas display at Clifton Mill. She always looked forward to these days, and enjoyed going out and spending time with her friends.

Anyone who traveled or went on vacation with Barbara had smooth sailing. It was often taken for granted that she was the trip planner. She would start early and examine all of the possibilities selecting the best and most effective options. She always enjoyed planning the family vacations each year to such places as Myrtle Beach, Virginia Beach, Disney World, the Smoky Mountains, Washington D.C., Springfield IL. (to see Lincoln's grave) and Gettysburg PA. Barbara always enjoyed traveling, during her lifetime she able to see most of the 50 states; all but the most eastern ones. Some of her favorite vacations included going to Hawaii twice (once with Billie, her sister Bill and her husband Don; along with a group of friends and second with her sister Patti). The biggest trip of her life was with her sister Bill when they would go to Europe to visit Bill's son David Chamberlain (who was stationed there in the Army). During this trip they would visit such countries as England, Germany and Switzerland. During this trip they got to visit many different sites. Some of these included seeing the Queen of England leaving Buckingham Palace and going into different castles. One of the castles they would take a tour through was the Neuschwanstein Castle which is one of the largest and often seen in movies like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, along with being the inspiration for the castle in Cinderella. Barbara would take two cruises in her lifetime both with her sister Patti. The first being to Hawaii and then an Alaskan Cruise (which she described as the prettiest state she ever saw). Barbara loved to fly also and thought it was so pretty to be be able to see the lights down below and the clouds. On her cruise to Alaska she was able to fly in a small plane that took off and landed on the water where she was able to fly over the ice glaciers which she said was very exciting and described as breath takingly beautiful. In her lifetime she was also able to visit such sites as the The Statue of Liberty, The Grand Canyon, Yellow Stone National Park, The Hoover Dam, the Lincoln Memorial and tour The White House. Barbara enjoyed traveling to watch parades also, along with local parades she was able to attend parades in Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis to see the Indy 500 Parade and ultimately ended up seeing the Rose Bowl Parade with Patti. Along with traveling and watching parades, Barbara always enjoyed watching fireworks and would travel to various locations if she knew they were going to have a good fireworks display.

Barbara had dog named Squirt, a Jack Russell Terrier, (a gift from her grandson Michael) who enjoyed sitting on her lap while she watched television and sleeping with her at night. She enjoyed teaching him little tricks such as set, stand, laydown and rollover. He was her best friend for over six years. Her other pets included a mix Terrier named Brownie, who the family enjoyed for many years. Barbara was as loyal to her pets as they were to her.

When Barbara's retirement finally arrived in 1995, she was well prepared. She had taken the time to learn about her various options and chose her course wisely. In retirement she stayed active in her church, and worked part-time at Ace hardware (until her husbands health got bad) doing things with her children, grandchildren and the senior center. Barbara and Billie also enjoyed staying busy doing things around the house like gardening and planting flower's in the yard. During this time they would also take many side trips to such places like Natural Bridge and Maytown Kentucky (where Billie was born) and Brown County Indiana. Even in retirement, Barbara continued to stay in touch with her old friends while making plenty of new acquaintances. She was active in the community and felt fulfilled with the opportunities retirement offered her. In 2007 a year after Billie's passing, she would once again return to Washington D.C. with her son Darrel. They would visit such memorial sites as Arlington Cemetery, The Korean War Memorial and go back and see the apartment where see once lived while Billie was stationed there in the 1950's.

Though Barbara was considered quiet and easy going, she was strong willed. When she put her mind to do something she would usually get it done. As a child and into adulthood she could never swim very good, all though she wanted to. When she finally got her family raised, Dr. Chamberlain's mother-in-law Carol Shockey and her decided to go to the YWCA in Middletown and learn how to swim. At age fifty-eight she learned how to finally, and was thrilled to be able to say she could finally swim. Later on in her life Barbara had two major health issues that caused her to have short stays in a nursing home. The first was in 2010 when she had a small Tia stroke, the second was in 2019 when she had to have surgery. Because of her will, determination and desire to get back to doing the things she loved and enjoyed in life, she was able to not once but twice learn how to walk again. She never wanted to give up or stop doing the things she loved and enjoyed the most, like going to parades and getting ice cream. A couple of the final things she was able to do in her life was to go see the movie Elvis and a couple months later a Elvis impersonator. The impersonator seeing Barbara smiling and clapping as he walked through the crowd singing, took off a scarf he wore; wiped it on his chest and gave it to her just like Elvis use to do in real life. It put the biggest smile on her face and made her so very happy. Both took place down at the Plaza theatre where she use to go as a teenager.

To sum Barbara up one would say that she Loved her Husband Billie and family so very much. That she enjoyed having her children and grandchildren in her life, along with spending time with them and spoiling them. (They had their grandson Christopher down during his entire summer break one year when he was seven, and would have her other grandkids for weeks at a time just to enjoy their company). That she enjoyed taking everyone to see movies and to the Dairy Queen. That Barbara was always neatly dressed and made a good appearance of herself. That she loved her sister's along with her niece and nephew's and being able to share her life with them and enjoyed being in their lives. That Barbara enjoyed being around others and that she was always friendly and kind to everyone, and never talked bad about anybody, and that she always happy and had a smile on her face and a hug for you.

Barbara and Billie's wishes when they got older were to not be put in a nursing home, but to be able to live their life out in their own home where they had resided since 1963. Thanks in part to Dr. Richard Chamberlain (Bill's son) and Hospice of Middletown. They were able to keep Barbara's wish for her, and allow her to stay in her home and live her life out till her passing on the morning of July 10th, 2023.

The Young family would also like to Thank Christine Warner (Patti's daughter) for the help in the making of this memorial book of our Mother. The picture's along with the information and support that you provided was very helpful.....Thank-You.

Barbara is proceeded in death by her parents Ella and Wilber Whitaker, along with her husband Billie, sisters; Wilberta (Bill) Chamberlain and Sue Whitaker and all of Billie's siblings. She is survived by 3 sons Dale, Duane (Kathy) and Darrel. Four grandchildren; Christopher (Carley) Young, Michael (Jessica) Young, Sarah (Drew) Wade. and Melanie (Drew) Van Leeuwen, and eight great-grandchildren; Kyrsten and Skylar Young, Jaylynn Lewis, Julie and Alivia Young, Conner Wade and Tatum and Sloane Van Leeuwen. Sister Patti Whitaker, and brother-in-law's Don Chamberlain and Jerry McMurchy, along with a niece Christine (Whitaker) Warner and nephew's Dr. Richard Chamberlain and David Chamberlain, along with numerus nieces and nephews on Billie's side.

It is said that some people can’t see the forest for the trees. Barbara was able to focus on each individual tree, tending to its needs, thus making the forest stronger as a whole. Barbara was a trustworthy, pragmatic and sympathetic person, the kind of woman to whom everyone was drawn to. She was thorough and practical. Barbara Young was very literal with her words. You always knew where you stood with Barbara. She will truly be missed. We Love You Mom Always and Forever!!.....Your Family

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YOUNG, Barbara Lee, age 91, a resident of Miamisburg, passed away Monday, July 10, 2023 at home. Barbara was born on December 4, 1931 in Dayton, OH to the late Wilber and Ella Whitaker. In addition to her parents she was preceded in death by her husband, Bill Young; sisters, Wilberta “Bill” Chamberlain and Sue Whitaker; and all of her husband’s siblings.

She is survived by her 3 sons, Dale Young of Miamisburg, Duane (Kathy) Young of West Carrollton & Darrel Young of Miamisburg; 4 grandchildren, Christopher (Carly) Young, Myke (Jessica) Young, Melanie (Drew) Van Leeuwen & Sarah (Drew) Wade; 8 great-grandchildren, Kyerstin & Skylar Young, Jaylynn Lewis, Julie & Alivia Young, Tatum & Sloane Van Leeuwen, Conner Wade; sister, Patti Whitaker; brothers-in-law, Don Chamberlain & Jerry McMurchy; numerous nieces & nephews.

Barbara graduated from Miamisburg High School Class of 1950. Barbara and Bill were members of St. James United Methodist Church. She was well loved, and found great joy in spending time with her family. She loved travelling and watching classic movies with her grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held 10:30 AM Saturday, July 15, 2023 from the GEBHART-SCHMIDT-PARRAMORE FUNERAL HOME, 508 E. Linden Ave., Miamisburg. Burial will follow at Miami Valley Memory Gardens. Friends may call from 9 AM until the time of the service Saturday at the funeral home. If desired, the family suggests contributions be made in Barbara's memory to Hospice Care of Middletown or The Diabetes Association. Condolences may be shared at www.gebhartschmidtparramore.com.