The Valdosta Daily Times
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Mary E. C. Barch, born Oct. 29, 1924, passed away after a stroke in Bozeman, Mont. on Aug. 20, 2012. She was 87 years old. Mary was born to Ernest W. and Mary Dasher Carter in Homestead, Fla. She spent most of her youth in Valdosta, Ga., and graduated from Valdosta State in 1943. She met and married her husband, Bill (William) Barch while he was based at Moody Field prior to WW II.
They were married for over 62 years. Moving several times early in Bill’s career to Florida and South Carolina, they finally settled in Allentown, Pa. By then they had a son, Richard, and added a daughter, Marion, a few years later. Mary and Bill were founding members of Allentown’s Church of Christ. Mary worked at a number of clerical and administrative positions, ending as the Secretary to the Dean of the College of Education at Lehigh University. Mary volunteered for numerous activities including church functions, Hospice, the Red Cross, and Meals on Wheels for over 25 years. They sent their children, Richard (Andrea Sobieski) and Marion (Steve Cherry) to college and supported them in their lives.
Mary had three special grandchildren through Richard and Andrea, Cathy (Adam Baldwin), Joe (Julie), and Greg Barch. Cathy and Adam have two of her great -grandchildren (Sam and Charlotte); and Joe and Julie have the third, a son named Leo. She has had several ‘grandcats’ through Marion and Steve.
Mary moved to Bozeman, Mont. in 2008 to be near her daughter two years after Bill passed away. She was well respected and made friends wherever she went. She loved her family and friends in the Valdosta area.
Services will be held at a later date in Dasher, Ga. Memorials may be made to Bozeman Deaconess Foundation, for Hospice, 931 Highland Blvd. Ste. 3200, Bozeman, MT. 59715.
