Barbara J Donaldson

Barbara J. Donaldson November 10, 1929 - July 27, 2024

Barbara J. Donaldson, a woman of faith, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend passed away peacefully on July 27, 2024. Barbara was born at home in Thorntown, Indiana on November 10, 1929 to Chester Carl Gaddis and Eva Nell Moore Gaddis. She was preceded in death by her parents, beloved husband, George Donaldson Ill, younger sister, Marilyn Stevens, son, Brian, daughter-in-law, Cheryl, and grandsons, Dustin, and Michael Ramirez. She is survived by her older sister, Phyllis Allen, sons, David, Howard (wife Terrie), Les (wife Sandra), John (wife Cathy), daughter, Nancy Ramirez (husband Ernie), 8 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.

 After graduating high school, Barbara went to secretarial school and worked as a secretary in Indiana for a few years.

 Barbara moved here to Albuquerque in the 1950's with her toddler son, Brian. She went to work at Sandia National Labs as a secretary. Through a friend she met the love of her life, George, who had 2 small boys of his own, David and Howard. They were married in February 1956. Barbara quit her job and became a homemaker a couple of years after they married. They added 3 more children to their blended family, Les, Nancy and John. Barbara was a loving mother, great cook and good seamstress among other things.

 Barbara was dedicated to her family and all 6 of her children. She was a great Mom. She was very involved in her kid's studies and activities and offered support when needed. Becoming a grandmother was the joy of her life. She stayed involved in the lives of her grandchildren and always let them know they were loved.

 Barbara was an avid reader her whole life. She especially loved reading about history, biographies of leaders of different countries and historical novels and romances. Her favorite subjects were Victorian and Regency England and ancient Egypt.

 Barbara loved to travel. During her marriage she and George traveled to almost all 50 states as well as several foreign countries. While their children were growing up most of their travels were to visit their families in Washington and Indiana camping along the way. Barbara loved camping and she and George would always plan sites trips to visit historical sites, battlefields, national parks and zoos across the country. As well as being educational, much fun and many happy memories were made. Her favorite international destinations were Great Britain and Japan with Belgium and Spain close behind. Much of their traveling was related to George's membership in IEEE. She made several close friends that were members or spouses of members of IEEE that she stayed close with for the remainder of their lives - long after everyone had retired.

 Barbara and George usually made it a point to get some fishing in when they reached their destination when traveling in the United States. Barbara was an enthusiastic fisherwoman. She much preferred stream fishing and was very good at it. All the patience she developed raising 6 children came in very handy while sitting on a rock waiting for the fish to bite. Here favorite New Mexico fishing sites was the Jemez area.

 One of Barbara's favorite activities for the majority of her life was bowling and she was an excellent bowler. Barbara was a junior bowling coach for over 20 years at Fiesta Lanes here in Albuquerque. She helped many young people improve their bowling skills and taught them to love the game. She also worked for several years at Albuquerque Bowling Association office doing a variety of jobs.

Barbara was a member of The Copper State Bowling Association and traveled to tournaments throughout the southwest. Many of her funniest memories revolve around these tournament trips. Many great friends were made and many hilarious escapades occurred. The highlight of Barbara's bowling career was being voted in as an inaugural member of the Albuquerque Women's Bowling Hall of Fame in 1995 for "Superior Performance". A knee replacement and problems related caused Barbara to have to quit bowling and that was a very sad time for her.

 Barbara also enjoyed playing BINGO and going to casinos to play Draw Poker machines. When she and George traveled west out of Albuquerque they would always stop in Laughlin or more often Las Vegas for a couple of days so she could get a little casino time in. She had tons of fun gambling and was usually fairly lucky. She had many prizes of artwork, trays, jewelry, jackets, purses and other items in the house that she won playing BINGO.

 After her 6 children were finally adults, Barbara rediscovered a love of crafting. She learned macrame and made some lovely plant hangers and other beautiful items. She started painting t­ shirts and sweatshirts with butterflies, flowers, Native American designs and some Nativity scenes. She took up painting ceramics and made some beautiful pieces and even won a first place and a third place ribbon in the New Mexico State Fair for two of the first five pieces she ever made.

 Finally, Barbara was a woman of faith and lifelong Presbyterian. She loved God, her Church (Covenant Presbyterian), and her church family. Barbara served the churches she was a member of in a variety of ways throughout her life including being a deacon, elder, teacher, couples group leader, and served on many committees. She loved to just get in and help where needed. Later in life she became very involved in one of the local mission projects of Covenant Presbyterian. The project, Dismas House, is a transitional living program for men on probation or parole. Monthly she would help provide meals and extend friendship to men in the program. She got to know many of the men and admired them for how hard they were working to get their lives back on track. She also got extremely close to a few of the other volunteers and they became some of her very favorite people. She was named "Volunteer of the Year" one year for her work with them.

 Barbara has gone to join the church triumphant and will be greatly missed. A service celebrating her life will be held at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 9315 Candelaria Rd. NE, this coming Saturday, September 7th at 3:00 in the afternoon. In lieu of flowers please donate to Covenant Presbyterian Church or American Cancer Society here in Albuquerque.