Katherine Van Rees Barber was born to Dutch parents in Pella, Iowa in 1884. She and her husband, Jesse Barber, lived in various parts of Iowa and raised nine children during the difficult years of the 1920s and the Great Depression. She was a source of inspiration to her children
who admired her perseverance, constant work within the family, and devotion to them. She died in 1934. Seven of her children went to California to seek a better life.
Despite much adversity in their early lives, none of her nine children were failures. Three of her grand children attended Iowa State University. Her granddaughter, Katherine Barber Fromm, lived in Ames and taught in the History Department of Iowa State. Her grandson, Michael Newell, graduated in veterinary medicine. Her great-granddaughter hopes to attend Iowa State to become an engineer. 12/13/94 |
