Obituary of Flossie Mae Barber

Mrs. Flossie Mae Barber was born Flossie Mae Simmons in 1927 on December 15, which was also the same date as her father’s birthday, to her parents Joseph Simmons and Blanche Stevens. Joseph and Blanche also later had a son, LaForest “Corky” Simmons, with whom Flossie was very close. Joseph and Blanche divorced and Blanche later married Carl Lee Allen, who proved to be a wonderful stepfather and grandfather to Flossie’s children. Flossie often expressed how lucky she was to have two fathers because Joseph remained active and involved in Flossie’s whole life until his death in 1968. Right up until the end, Flossie often expressed how much she loved and missed her daddy. Flossie grew up in a household that included her grandmother Caroline Stevens, who had a lasting influence on Flossie’s life, her mother Blanche, her brother LaForest, and first cousins Arlena, Eddie Jean, Walter and Willetta Brown. Although she grew up during the Great Depression of the 1930’s, she always expressed how fortunate she was and how rich her life was with love, family and happiness. She frequently would tell anyone that she wouldn’t trade anything for her wonderful childhood. Flossie attended Stowe and Keeling elementary schools, then Northeast Junior High and graduated from Sumner High School in 1945. She then attended one year at KCK Junior College. While at Sumner, she was a cheerleader and a picture of her can be seen in the Sumner archives at the University of Kansas library. She often complained to her mother that her legs were too skinny; but Blanche strongly reminded her that there were always boys calling her and to quit complaining. Although Flossie never considered herself to be an outstanding student yet she excelled at whatever she set out to do. Always being a helpful, considerate, thoughtful and hard-working person, combined with her sense of responsibility, integrity and initiative, she had many accomplishments and garnered recognition many times over. When she decided she did not want to continue school after one year of junior college, her father, Joseph, was heartbroken and Flossie truly hated hurting her father; however, she had to convince him that returning to school was something she just did not want to do. Her first job was at a local funeral home where the owners were very happy with her because she was so pleasant and always showed up very smartly dressed. Flossie had always been a very outgoing and friendly person and never met a stranger. This was the reputation she carried with her throughout her life. Again, while she never considered herself an academic, she helped a large number of adult students learn basic math and English during the time she worked at Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City, MO. Flossie often commented that all the young men she dated were tall until she met her future husband, Elbert “Jack” Barber, who was the shortest man she had ever dated. Unknown to Flossie, she had already met Jack’s aunt Palestine “Fess” White through the church Usher Board, and cousin Betty Humphrey. “Aunt Fess” later taught Flossie how to make bread rolls and Flossie went on to earn her own reputation for making delicious rolls. Also, Flossie’s cousin Arlena was a best friend of Jack’s. When Jack returned to Kansas City after completing his service in the Army, it wasn’t long before they were married on January 19, 1947. Anyone who knew Flossie knew that Jack was the love of her life. Being a very social person, Flossie was a member of the social club Joi de Vivre, one of many black women’s social clubs that were formed during the years of segregation. These clubs hosted formal affairs that added to and raised the cultural level of the Black community’s social life outside the segregated venues of the day. These social clubs are described in a documentary called “My Mother’s Club”, produced by Rodney M. Thompson. Flossie is one of the interviewees in the documentary. The Joi de Vivre club, along with the other black social clubs, led a successful boycott of the stores in downtown Kansas City, MO so that black shoppers would receive equal treatment. Flossie and Jack moved to Kansas City, MO in 1958 into their own home. While there, their three children – Jacques, Zachary and Anna Camille – attended Sanford B. Ladd elementary school. It was at that school that Flossie became very active in the PTA and was elected the first Black president of the PTA in the Kansas City, MO school district. During this period, Jack had begun his many business ventures. Jack’s Creamery was one and was located at 7th & Quindaro Blvd. in Kansas City, KS. Because of the commuting requirements, and the need for Flossie’s help in building the business, the family moved back to Kansas City, KS in 1962. Flossie managed Jack’s Creamery and became known as the “chili-dog lady”. Flossie and Jack loved to travel and became world travelers with their frequent travel companions Arthur & Jeanette Guliford. Flossie would write travelogues for the Kansas City Call newspaper describing their travels around the world. Not to be held back and with a sense of adventure, Flossie traveled to China on her own with a travel group. Flossie’s passion for travel inspired her to share this experience with people in the community that had never traveled before. While she worked at Penn Valley, Flossie became a program manager that focused on activities for senior citizens. She first began taking seniors to local attractions which proved to be an extremely successful program that the participants loved. Unfortunately, funding was cut for the program and when Flossie had to leave, the seniors wanted to follow her. Flossie then began to organize trips on her own for the seniors and this activity grew into the Jolliettes travel club. Soon after, Jack became an active organizer for the group as well. The Jolliettes were a big part of Flossie and Jack’s life. One of the things that Flossie was also known for was her prolific letter-writing and beautiful penmanship. Many people can confirm how much they loved getting Flossie’s letters with updates on the goings-on in KCK. Flossie loved to write and in addition to her hundreds of letters, she also wrote poetry. Flossie was also involved in civic affairs by volunteering for voter registration and working the polls on Election Day for over 20 years. She and Jack’s community involvement led them to attend, with Kansas State Representative Norman Justice, the Inauguration of President Jimmy Carter in Washington D.C. Flossie was the family historian in that she had an active interest in everyone’s relationship and history – putting a lot of it in her famous letters – and committing it all to memory. This applied to both her own family’s history as well as Jack’s family history. If you ever had a question about a relative, just ask Flossie and she could tell you. Flossie loved the Serenity Prayer and lived by it, no doubt contributing to why she was such a happy person: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference. Many times Flossie stated how much she loved her life and her family and that she had no regrets about her life. With Jack’s passing on December 4, 2015, for those close to her, they believe Flossie simply chose to be with him. She passed away on the morning of December 21, 2015. She is survived by her three children Jacques, Zachary, and Anna Camille; her grandchildren Amina, Arielle, Jamille and Jacques II & his wife Nadeau; great grandchildren Jacques III and Gerard, niece Linda Simmons and many other family members and friends.