Barbara Louise Smith

Barbara Louise Smith was born on October 8, 1941 in Asheville, North Carolina to Charles David McKissick Sr. and Carrie (Gladney) McKissick who both proceeded her in death. She lost her mother at the age of five and both she and her brother Charles were raised by their grandmother Bessie Gladney.

She attended Newberry County School District in Newberry South Carolina. She graduated from Gallman High School in 1959. Shortly after graduation she relocated to Newark, New Jersey where she met and married the late John Thomas Barnes Sr. To this union two children were born, John (JT) who proceeded her in death and Karen. In 1975 she relocated to Detroit, Michigan where she met and married the late Irvin Smith. To this union they had a daughter Vivian.

Barbara was very outspoken and was never shy about voicing her opinion. She loved working and interacting with people and spending time with her family. She loved to laugh and share stories about others. She was an avid reader who enjoyed biographies and staying up to date on current events. She also enjoyed cooking large meals and feeding loved ones. Barbara showed tough love, but instilled strong values and character in her loved ones.

In 1984 she relocated to Silver Spring, Maryland. She worked as an Administrative Assistant for the Dean of the College of Engineering at Howard University where she retired in 2005. Barbara enjoyed her retirement for six months and decided she needed to get out and do something, so she returned to the workforce and went to work for Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland until her illness in 2007. She spent the next 10 years in Hebrew Home of Greater Washington in Rockville Maryland until she was called home on January 8th.

Barbara leaves to cherish her memory four children, Monica Toney (Warren), Thomas Davis (Jache), Karen Cowans and Vivian Pinedo (Ronald); a brother Charles McKissick Jr. (Romanita); ten grandchildren, Javin, Eboni, Gelisa, Thomas, Alonzo, Jalynn, Janaya, Victoria Jordan and Nikolai; six great-grandchildren, Samiah, Jeremiah, Chase, DeAndre, Jordyn and Dreya; a beloved aunt Louise Smith of Detroit Michigan and a host of other family members and friends.

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