Flecksing, Barbara Oleta Ellen

Barbara Oleta Ellen Flecksing of Toddville passed away at the Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy in Hiawatha on July 4, 2013, following a long battle with breast cancer. During her illness she continued to live a full life and pursue her many activities and hobbies.

She was born March 12,1933, in Bakersfield, Calif., to Vicente Cancio and James Vernon Brashier. She was proud of her Native American, Mexican Indian, and French heritage.

She is survived by her husband of 62 years, Robert Flecksing; sister, Joan Natalie Mackey; brother, James Brashier; aunt, Isabelle Andrada; three nephews and one niece. Her children are Dale (Mary), Anne Teresa (Joe), Katherine, Stephen, Laura (Mark), Kurt, William (Dara), Maria and Joan (Bob); and she has 16 grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by three sons, James, Brian and David.

Barbara met her husband, Robert Flecksing, in California and moved to Iowa in 1951. As a lifelong homesteader, she raised goats and sheep, was an avid gardener, and enthusiastic mother and mentor. She lived the virtues of self-reliance and compassionate giving.

She devoted much of her professional and personal time to caring and giving to the needs of others. Barbara was a certified nurse's aide, volunteered at the Catholic Worker House and the Clare House for years, was a member of the Los Amigos Club, La Leche League, and was a political activist for social justice and environmental causes.

Funeral Mass: 10 a.m. Monday, July 8, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Cedar Rapids, by the Rev. Christopher Podhajsky. Visitation: 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Cedar Rapids. Private family burial will be at Dunkard Cemetery, Toddville.

Memorials are suggested to the Mercy Foundation for the Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy and the Hall-Perrine Cancer Center.

Please sign the online guest book and share a memory about Barbara at www.stewartbaxter.com.

Published July 6, 2013 in The Gazette