Barbara Jean Bruce

Barbara Jean (Walton) Bruce, age 87, passed away peacefully on September 11, 2023, with family at her side. She was born the eldest child and only daughter of Charles W. Walton and Genevieve M. (Zeeb) Walton on April 8, 1936, in Stow, OH.

Barb was reared in Ohio, Michigan, and Minnesota, attending three high schools in four years. It was her desire to settle in one place when she became an adult. She met her husband of 57 years, William Clayton Bruce, while attending college in Columbia, MO. Life quickly led them to Bill's hometown of Unionville, MO, and their life-long occupation of farming. Barb was a city girl but adapted to farm life in Western Putnam County. There, she and Bill raised three children, William C. Bruce Jr, Jeanne Bruce Jarrett and Robert D. Bruce. Barb loved Putnam County and adopted Unionville as her hometown. She was a very proud mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother. Her grandchildren affectionately referred to her as 'Gram'.

During her lifetime, Barb saw many changes take place, from having the first small, black and white TV in her neighborhood, to learning to navigate Facebook, and her iPad. She also transitioned from a wall-mounted crank phone on a party line to cellphones. Farm machinery just kept expanding as did the size of farms. Some of Barb's favorite childhood memories include the summers she spent with her Walton grandparents in Carlinville, IL. She also loved living on a lake in St Paul, MN, during high school. She became a certified lifeguard, later teaching her children and a few neighbor kids how to swim in her farm pond. She, Bill and the family enjoyed many summers during the 1970's on Lake Thunderhead north of Unionville. Sundays were filled with swimming, boating, water-skiing, and socializing. There was a lot of fun, hard work and some valuable lessons learned, such as, when leading a steer in the corral and the steer decides to take off, let go of the lead rope. Never stand directly behind someone casting a fishing pole. Throw your body in front of a stampeding herd of cattle, unless you want to get yelled at. If you didn't want your face rubbed with her spit, make sure you have a clean face. If you didn't want her to fling her arm in front of you while simultaneously putting on lipstick, smoking a cigarette and driving at a high rate of speed, just sit in the back. If you truly wanted her to do something, tell her to do the opposite. Her strong will made life anything but dull.

For several years, Barb spent time quilting and reading novels. Each of her children and grandchildren possess one or more of her beautiful quilts. After her husband passed away, she enjoyed socializing with friends at the local cafe in Unionville. She had to leave every day by a certain time to be sure to get 'her seat' and rarely missed an evening.

Barb was widely liked by those who knew her. Her kind, gracious and caring attributes made her a wonderful role model for her family. As her parents and her parents-in-law went through their twilight years, it was Barb that unselfishly stepped up to help care for them. She saw each of them through to the end.

Barb was preceded in death by her parents, her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Dean and Mabel Bruce, husband, William C. Bruce, her oldest son, William C. Bruce, Jr, Sister-in-law, Nancy Walton, sister-in-law, Dorothy Bruce Skinner, and niece, Pamela Walton Moorhead.

Survivors include her daughter, Jeanne Bruce (Brooks) Jarrett, her son, Robert D. (Kelly) Bruce, and a daughter-in-law, Cindy Bruce. Grandchildren are Jerod Bruce Altiser, Kristen Altiser Flowers, Brooks Clayton Jarrett, Shannon Jarrett Orton, Austin Bruce, Riley Bruce, Jennifer Bruce Gilworth, Jill Bruce Hancock, and Jeana Bruce Bigham. Great grandchildren are Landon Altiser, Colden Altiser, Heven Truitt, Brycen Altiser, Addylinn Flowers, Layla Jarrett, Jessa Jarrett, Demri Jarrett, Keaton Orton, Lainey Orton, Emmie Orton, Jalynn Gilworth Shafer, Cadence Gilworth, Avery Gilworth, Madison Hancock, Marissa Hancock, William Bigham and Katherine Bigham. Great-Great grandchildren include Talon Altiser, Ryker Altiser, Lennox Altiser and Rivy Schafer. She is also survived by her niece, Melissa Walton Loubert, nephew, Estill Skinner and niece, Elizabeth Skinner Fernbacher.

Services for Barb will be Friday, September 15th, at the Playle-Collins Funeral Home in Unionville, MO. Visitation will begin at 2:00 p.m. and funeral services will begin at 3:00 p.m. Internment will be at the Unionville Cemetery, Unionville, MO.  If you wish to donate to a memorial in Barb's honor, checks may be made to the Unionville Historic Square Inc., one of Barb's favorite charities, and sent to the Playle-Collins Funeral Home.