Barbara Ann (Meyer) Birkenholtz

Barbara Ann (Meyer) Birkenholtz, 89, passed away on Saturday, November 26, 2022. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, December 2, 2022, at the First Lutheran Church. The family will greet friends from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service and again after the service with a lunch at the church. Memorials to the First Lutheran Church or the Salvation Army may be left at the church the day of the service or at the Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory.

Barb, the daughter of Jay and Octa (Pickering) Meyer, was born on August 28, 1933, in Newton. She graduated from Newton High School in 1951. On March 25, 1951, she was united in marriage to V. Dean Birkenholtz. They were married 66 years.

Barb was a member ofthe First Lutheran Church, Good Cheer class, Martha Circle, and Newton No. 3 Homemakers. She had worked at the Vernon Company and then later for the Jasper County Advertiser for 17 years before retiring. After retirement, Barb worked at Granny’s restaurant in Baxter where her pie baking became a feature the public enjoyed. She later passed out samples at Hy-Vee for AE Dairy and worked at Rock Communications. She loved fishing trips to Canada with Dean and enjoyed wintering in Texas for several years. Barb loved making Sunday dinners for the family and baking cookies, pies, noodles, and special birthday cakes for the grandchildren.

Those left to honor Barb’s memory are her children, Julie Brown of Newton, Susan (Ken) Ruden of Dexter, Gary “Bud” (Belinda) Birkenholtz of Newton, and Dwight (Barb) Birkenholtz of Colfax; six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, Rachel (David) Lester and their children, Harlee and Devin, of Newton, Ed Guthrie (Gilbert Robledo) of Denver, Colorado, Clint Birkenholtz and his children, Hayden,Charlotte, and Calvin of Urbandale, Chad (Nicole) Birkenholtz and their children, Roslin and Ellie Mae of Baxter; Elizabeth (Ryan) Reser and their daughter, Maelee of Rossville, Kansas, and Angela (Taylor) Johnson and their daughter, Aubrey of Jewell; her brother-in-law, Ordell (Jean) Birkenholtz ofNewton; and many nieces, nephews and step-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Dean in 2017; two brothers, Frank Meyer in 1974 and Milton Meyer in 2012; sister, Betty Lindsey in 2017; and son-in-law, Ron Brown in 2022.