Barbara Frances Caress died Jan. 9, 2022, in Houston, Texas, just shy of her 97th birthday.
Barbara was born Jan. 24, 1925, at Bedford, Indiana. Though she lost both parents by age 6, she spent a happy childhood raised by her grandmother, Lula Marley, and surrounded by numerous family members.
Barbara graduated from Bedford High School in 1942 and married Mark Caress in January of 1946, shortly after his return from serving in World War II. She worked as a secretary during their early years of marriage and could still write in shorthand. The couple lived in Martinsville, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Bloomington and Birmingham, Michigan, before moving to Crawfordsville in 1959.
Mark and Barbara raised their three children in Crawfordsville, where both were very active in the community. Barbara was active in P.E.O., Flower Lovers Club, Tri Kappa, Needleworkers, Meals on Wheels, Montgomery County Historical Society and MUFFY (the United Way) and always had a bridge club going. She was an avid Sunday School teacher at Wabash Avenue Presbyterian Church for many years. The couple established the Dr. Mark and Barbara Caress Education Fund within the Montgomery County Community Foundation.
Barbara loved her garden and her home on Durham Drive for 53 years while raising her three children. After Mark’s passing in 2000, Barbara remained in Crawfordsville until 2011. She lived in Indianapolis til 2016, when she made her home in Houston, Texas.
She is survived by son Kevin (Telene) Caress of Whiteland and daughters, Sarah Caress of Houston, Texas, and Ann (Mike) Baker of Mooresville, North Carolina. She is also survived by eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Both Mark and Barbara will be interred at Green Hill Cemetary in Bedford.
