Pauline May
Barker
Pauline May
Barker, 75, passed away Friday (Feb. 15, 2008) following a long illness.
She was born
Dec. 11, 1932, in Liverpool, England, to Enoch Arthur Speight and Edith May
Ashley.
She began
her nurse's training there when she met and married Leonidas Dunbaugh Jr. on
Sept. 18, 1951. To this union were born Gary Lee Dunbaugh, Sharon Denise
Dunbaugh Allen and David Wayne Dunbaugh (deceased).
Pauline's
nursing career spanned more than 45 years, performed in various nursing homes
and hospital settings. When Mr. Dunbaugh died, she decided to seek her degree
in nursing. Although she had completed her pre-collegiate schooling in England
with honors and had accumulated some nurse's training while still in England,
it was not recognized in America.
At the age
of 47, she returned to school to complete her GED and graduated in May 1982
with the last class of Wesley School of Nursing in Wichita. She was an
excellent patient advocate and received a number of awards for her
contributions to Wesley during her tenure.
She later
married David "Buzz" G. Barker, who preceded her in death, and she
continued to live in Newton, where they had made their home.
Until her
illness, Pauline was an active member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Veterans
of Foreign Wars, American Legion and First Methodist Church.
She is
survived by son, Gary Dunbaugh; daughter, Sharon D. Allen; grandchildren,
Joshua L. White, Alissa R. Allen and Claude Michael Allen; her beloved
great-granddaughters, Alayna Z. Blades and Amelie R. White; brothers, Kenneth
A. and David W. Speight; sisters, Sheila D. Standish and Barbara R. Potter; and
a host of nieces, nephews and cousins, all of whom reside in England.
Funeral
service will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Broadway Colonial Funeral Home Chapel in Newton.
In lieu of
flowers, memorials may be sent to St. Jude's Children's Hospital or Harry Hynes
Memorial Hospice.
