Storke Funeral Home Obituaries

Carol Jean (Bush) Barber, 79, beloved wife and cherished mother, passed away surrounded by her family on Thursday, October 6, 2022 in Colonial Beach, Virginia.

Born April 1943 in Dayton, Ohio, to Charles “Chuck” and Enid Mae (Shockley) Bush, Carol Jean grew up the lone girl among a pack of four brothers, all devoted to loving and teasing their “Sissy” with abandon.  Her early years were marked with small town joys and sass – riding her bike forever on country roads, innocently picking forbidden flowers from a cemetery to give to her mother, Girl Scout camping trips – and the heartbreak of tragically losing her father when she was13-years-old.

This and so much more formed the beautiful, quick-witted, tenacious, loving young woman that met her match in 1964 when Pete Barber visited the office supply store on the ground level of the Newark Advocate newspaper building.  He was a professional ad man for the paper (he wore suits!)  who fell for her beautiful smile and professional picnic packing skills and she was a gorgeous young woman secretly wanting a little bit more.

And thus began a fabulously risky and exciting adventure for “Pete & Carol,” as Pete took a leap into retail management:  marriage in September 1964 and creating a lifetime of memories in many cities – Newark, Ohio (baby #1, Patti Jo born in March 1965),  Asheboro, NC,  Jamestown, NY, York, Pennsylvania (baby #2, Jeff born in 1970),  Clinton, SC, Asheville, NC;  Harrisburg, PA;  Gaithersburg, MD; and the last and most wonderful chapter spent as a party of two in Colonial Beach, VA, starting in 1993.

Carol Jean was also a working girl who started her career at Sears & Roebuck in 1972 as a part-time PBX operator at the new mall store in Asheville, NC.  During her 20+ year career she rose to be a departmental manager and mentor/friend/confidante to many at the Sears in Montgomery Mall, Bethesda, MD.  Her second career chapter as an ad salesperson and feature writer at The Journal Press, King George, VA, gave her immense pride, satisfaction, and deep friendships.

What we keep in our hearts most is her passion for laughter, the written word, scary movies, Elvis, songs with meaningful lyrics and a heavy bass, yummy culinary feats, fluffy dogs, all things comfy cozy and charming, OBX, playing Scrabble and cards, a margarita in a marvy glass, her fiery fabulousness, and her fierce “I’ll squeeze you until it hurts” love.  Mostly, we remember her as half of Pete & Carol, those amazingly brave and beautiful two kids that struck out on their own to blaze a trail uniquely theirs.

Carol is survived by her beloved husband, Cassius “Pete” Barber; her children and their spouse, Patti Jo-Graham (Barber) Rosenthal and Eric Rosenthal, Jeff Barber and Teri (Quelet) Barber; her cherished grandchildren Riley Mae Barber, Jake Ryan Barber, Ashley Rose Barber, Graham William Snyder; bonus grandchildren Caroline Beth (Rosenthal) Winston and Brendan Winston, Michael Joseph Rosenthal;  great grandson Oliver Michael Fisher; her brothers Charles Michael “Mike” Bush and his wife Janet (Crothers) Bush, and Jerry Lynn Bush; and dozens of nieces and nephews.  She is preceded in death by her parents, Charles Decker Bush and Enid Mae (Shockley) Bush; and her brothers Larry Leland Bush and Russell “Corky” Bush.

A memorial service celebrating the life of Carol Jean Barber will be held at Storke Funeral Home, 131 3rd Street, Colonial Beach, Virginia, 22443, at 2pm on Saturday, October 22, 2022.  In lieu of flowers and in tribute to her love of animals, the family requests that a charitable donation be sent to The Humane Society of Westmoreland County, https://westmorelandhumanesociety.com/support-us/