Nancy Barker

Nancy Ferguson Barker of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, social worker, homemaker, wife, mother, and grandmother, died February 4, 2015. She was 93 years old. Nancy was born February 6th,, 1921 in Rosiclare, Illinois. Soon after her birth, the family moved to Riverside, a suburb of Chicago, where she spent her childhood. She loved her friends and her life in Riverside, and cherished her barefoot summers at the beloved family ancestral home in Cameron, North Carolina. Nancy’s ambition from an early age was to be a social worker. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she went to graduate school at Case Western Reserve, where she received a master’s in social work. Having always wanted to live in New York City, after graduation she relocated there to a medical social work position at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. She later worked for the VA, first on Staten Island, and then in the Bronx. Nancy loved New York, and lived through the late 1940’s and early 1950’s there. She told stories of going to Times Square for VE and VJ days, and took advantage of all the cultural richness that New York had to offer. She was married in 1953 to Charles Paul Barker MD, and the couple moved to Michigan. Nancy enthusiastically embraced the Detroit suburbs, where she made her home for the rest of her life. Her passion centered on her community and family. She maintained an active life, enjoying volunteer work with the Oakland County Medical Auxiliary, the American Association of University Women, and the First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham. She also loved to travel, and believed in lifelong learning. She was blessed with faith and optimism, which carried her through many difficult times. She had one major health crisis during her life, when she lost much of her vision at age 68 to macular degeneration. Always an avid reader, she switched her “reading” to Library of Congress Talking Books without missing a beat, which she enjoyed immensely. No one can recall her complaining about, or appearing to be discouraged by, this life changing decline in function. Nancy will always be remembered for her wisdom, her warmth, her sense of humor, her open mind, her enthusiasm for life, and her wonderful home, to which one could always return. She is survived by her three children Mary, Paul, and Charles Barker, their spouses John Flaherty, Laila Barker, and Margaret Mullaly, and her beloved grandchildren Kenny and Charlotte Barker, Anne Flaherty, and Clare Barker, as well as extended family and friends. The family would like to acknowledge the wonderful care provided by Jean Pfeifle, Nancy Simlar, Carmen Simlar, and Charity Mullaly over the last few years. A donation to a charity of your choice in her memory would be appreciated.