Barbara Anne Harlan

Barbara Anne Harlan died April 2 after a long battle with a Parkinson’s like illness.

She was born March 18, 1938, in Pottawatomie County to Vernon and Wanetta (Schleif) Smith.

A graduate of St. George High School, Barbara lived in Manhattan and Topeka before moving to Houston in 1967.

She worked as an administrative assistant at private and public schools in Houston before retiring in 2004. After retirement, she worked two hurricane seasons for the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Denton, Texas. She returned to Manhattan in December 2013.

Barbara was a gifted pianist, an avid dancer and a ruthless Scrabble player.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her oldest brother, James Smith of Manhattan.

She is survived by her four children: Christi Harlan of Washington, D.C.; Brenda O’Shea of Munster, Ind.; Robert Harlan of Austin, Texas; and Jennifer Harlan of Manhattan, as well as their father, Loyd W. Harlan of Houston.

She is also survived by her sister, Aileen, and husband Lawrence Garvin of Columbia, Mo.; her brother, Delbert, and wife Donna Smith of Manhattan; as well as sister-in-law Frances Smith, also of Manhattan; 13 grandchildren and one great granddaughter.

A celebration of her life will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, August 7th, at the Zeandale Community Church.

Memorial gifts can be made to the Good Samaritan Fund at Meadowlark Hills, 2121 Meadowlark Road, Manhattan KS 66502.