Barbara S. Mc Kenna

When Barbara S McKenna walked into the room, those in her company felt energy, an enthusiastic spontaneity.   Barbara was a clever and gregarious person who loved to have fun. Barbara was tireless and had boundless enthusiasm that would serve her well throughout her life.Barbara was born on April 29, 1922 in Elkhart, Indiana.  She was the daughter of Mary Edith Storms who was born in Michigan and Albert Orville Steimer who was born in Indiana.  Barbara was raised in Elkhart.  Always at the ready with a good joke, she grew up to be quite a humorous person.  While some who knew Barbara might describe her as an idealist, her friends and family understood well that Barbara was always in pursuit of life’s endless possibilities and opportunities available to her.Barbara was raised with three siblings.  She had a twin sister Jeanne and an older sister Mary Ann and a brother John.  Barbara remained close to her sisters but lost her brother at a fairly young age.As a young girl, Barbara was able to empathize and identify with a vast array of people and personality types.  This quality drew her into a diverse group of friends and acquaintances.  Barbara was fun loving and had little trouble getting along with her peers.  She was almost always the first to jump in when it came to playing games or participating in other childhood activities.  She loved nature and animals and always excelled in art.  Barbara had the ability to find amusement with almost any activity that she and her many childhood friends shared.During her high school years, Barbara responded enthusiastically to any new project and was regularly in search of one adventure after another.  Barbara was a good student, and generally did well in her courses. For Barbara, school often became just an extension of playtime, thanks to her ability to turn just about anything into a game.  Her favorite classes in high school were English and Art.  She also loved Music.Barbara attended college in Indiana and studied Art.  Her favorite courses were always art related.  Barbara was very adaptable, a quality that helped her make the transition from high school to college with little difficulty.  Barbara was always in quest of new things to learn and experienceBarbara had a talent for making acquaintances easily which in turn brought her an endless stream of friends, Barbara was very sociable and could blend without effort into any social group.  Her best friends from her younger days were Mary Hickey. Darlene Burkhart, Jerry Markwell and Jan Gilbert and she maintained those friendships until her death.  But she had many other friends who she loved dearly, Patti McCreedy, Jan & Les Mehlmen, Kathy Hardesty & Sally Bachman just to name a few.  She was a very social person and loved people.  Barbara was married three times, first to George Walter Anderson, then to Walter George Anderson (!) and last to Dalton Stuart Mckenna.  Her first 2 marriages were in Indiana and her last was in California.  Barbara had three other important significant others throughout her life after her marriages.  The first was Tom Calhoun, the second was Wayne Shelly and the last was Forrest (Forrie) Hanna.Barbara and Walter George Anderson had one child, Carol Jeanne Anderson (called Jeannie).  They were also blessed with one grand child,  Shannon Marie Pollak.  Barbara was very close to her daughter Jeannie and spent her last 6 years living with her until she broke her shoulder and complications caused her to need 24 hour skilled nursing care.  Barbara was moved to Glenwood Care Center where she received very attentive and wonderful care.  Luckily Glenwood was very close to Jeannie so they still saw each other almost every day.Barbara was uplifted by new ideas and was excited by life’s possibilities.  Her primary occupation was Interior Design.  She had her own business called \"Interiors by Barbara\".  She loved beautiful things and really enjoyed helping her clients create their dream home.There was always a certain style and inventiveness to Barbara.  She was a dynamic, self-expressive person who was forever looking to celebrate the endless possibilities life had to offer.  She had a knack for being clever and witty and she was an endless optimist.  Barbara was always more than willing to share life’s experiences with her loved ones.  Barbara was generous and fun loving and perhaps her most endearing trait was her endless ability to laugh at herself.To view photographs of Barbara's life go to http://s1147.photobucket.com/albums/o557/jeannie22ster/?albumview=slideshow