Barbara Roe

Inwood, IA: Barbara Swenson Roe, 90, of Inwood, Iowa died Wednesday, March 8, 2017, at Fellowship Village in Inwood. Funeral services will be Monday, March 13, at 2:00 PM at Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Inwood with Rev. John Wolf officiating. Burial will follow at Richland Cemetery of Inwood. Visitation, with the family present, will be Sunday, March 12, from 3:00-4:30 PM at Porter Funeral Home of Inwood. Memorials may be directed to Bethlehem Lutheran Church or Fellowship Village of Inwood.

Barbara Jane Swenson was born May 13, 1926, in Inwood, Iowa, to Holver and Irene (Thorson) Swenson. She graduated from Inwood High School in 1944 and Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1948, where she was involved in many campus and literary activities. Barbara married Arlyn Roe on August 4, 1949, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Inwood. The couple moved to Brookings, South Dakota, where Barbara was active in civic, social, musical, and church organizations as she and Arlyn raised their family. Barbara assisted Arlyn with his photography business for many years and later became a fixture in downtown Brookings, where she worked in retail, most notably at The Index. In 1987 the couple moved to Pasadena, Texas, where Arlyn worked in a family business. They retired and moved to Inwood in 1991, where Barbara continued to be active in church, community, and social organizations, including The American Legion Auxiliary, The Inwood Museum, and the Ladies Lions Club. She was an active volunteer at Fellowship Village and Lyon County Hospice. Barbara was a prolific writer, publishing poems and prose during her college years, and she continued to charm friends and family with her poems and stories later in life, often focusing on the history of her early years in Inwood. She was a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Inwood.

She is survived by her 6 children, Thomas (Mary) Roe of Brookings, South Dakota, Jane (Jeff) Cooper of Fort Worth, Texas, Mary (Larry) Praytor of Pasadena, Texas, Margaret (Bob) Sik of Canby, Minnesota, Andrew (Rhonda) Roe of Maple Grove, Minnesota, and Katey (Todd) Lawrence of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; 12 grandchildren; and 8 great-grandchildren. Barbara was preceded in death by her husband, Arlyn, and her parents.

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