Page created by: Traci Mordell

Carol Barber was born in Los Angeles in 1940 to Kathryne Reed and Clyde Higgins. She was an only child but grew up with cousins and grandparents nearby. She contracted polio when she was 12 years old but was fortunate in that except for the loss of muscle mass in her left arm, she had no noticeable, residual effects from polio. Carol had entertaining stories of her time in the hospital with her fellow polio patients and the shenanigans they pulled. A favorite teen memory was riding a passenger train from California to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, with childhood friend Curly to spend the summer with Curly's grandparents. Unaccustomed to high heat and humidity, Carol said she would lie in a bathtub of cold water to escape the brutal summer weather in Ontario.
Carol married Jerry Barber in 1961. Shortly after, they welcomed their first daughter, Teri. Five years later, another daughter, Traci, joined the family. They remained in southern California until 1969 when they moved to western Oregon. Carol and Jerry divorced in 1980 but remained close friends until his death in 2012.
In addition to being a homemaker, Carol worked for Bank of America for several years. Later, she worked in the pharmacy at West Linn Thriftway, and then spent the last 20 years of her working career in the dental claims division of Standard Insurance. She retired from Standard in 2003.
Carol was the grandmother of three (Lindsay and Alicia [Teri's daughters] and William [Traci's son]) and great grandmother of three (Liam, Kaia, and Cameron [Lindsay's children]).
She remained in Oregon until January 2021 when Traci and her husband, Mike Mordell, moved back to the Pacific Northwest and persuaded her to move near them in Kennewick, Washington. At that time, Carol was suspected of having dementia but had not been formally diagnosed. The Parkinson's disease diagnosis also was yet to be made despite her having had a noticeable tremor in her left hand and foot for several years.
Carol's new primary care provider in Kennewick immediately noticed the tremor and learned Carol's mother had had Parkinson's. Carol was referred to a neurologist and by mid-2021 diagnosed with dementia and Parkinson's. Looking back, Carol's daughters think she had Parkinson's for at least six years before the diagnosis.
In happier times, Carol enjoyed chatting with friends and strangers alike, playing cards and board games, reading, visiting the Oregon coast, gardening, and doing word search puzzles.
She passed away March 29, 2022.
Carol is remembered as a loving mother and grandmother, a kind friend, and a hard worker.