Barbara Ubben

Barbara A. Ubben, 87, of Blue Rapids, KS, passed away on October 27, 2024, at Cambridge Senior Living in Marysville after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. 

Visitation was held on November 8th from 5 to 9 p.m. at Kinsley Mortuary. The family received friends from 6 to 8 p.m.

A funeral service was held at 10:00 a.m. on November 9th, 2024, at Kinsley Mortuary. Pastor Shannon Borgman officiated.  Music included "I Will Remember You" and "You Raise Me Up."

The honorary pallbearers were Nancy Nolte, Shawn Mclntyre, Greg Ubben and Larry Claycamp.

Burial followed in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Blue Rapids, KS.

She was born on October 6, 1937, in Seattle, WA, to Maurice Marden Dixon and Mae Elizabeth Williams. Barb was baptized and confirmed into St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. While young, her family moved many times around the Seattle area. While in grade school, Barb’s family spent several years living on and helping run a turkey farm where her father had decided they should move to help a family friend. Barb graduated from West Seattle High School in 1955. From her senior yearbook, here were her future aspirations – “To become a secretary and buy a car to travel throughout the United States.” Having taken secretarial classes (including shorthand) while still in school she worked at America Insurance in Seattle for 2 years upon graduation, writing marine policies and doing teletype. With a nice reference submitted ahead from her boss in Seattle, Barb and her close classmate, Ann, had jobs waiting for them in Hawaii at Von Ham-Young Insurance when they decided in 1958 to go live in Hawaii together. Barb stayed in Hawaii for a year, leaving when Ann decided she needed to move back to Los Angeles. Barb had very fond memories of buzzing around Oahu in her bright yellow convertible, frequent trips to the beach and a few parties with some of their classmates who were stationed over there in the Navy. If you’d spent much time with her in her later years, you likely heard stories from her time there.

Barb continued working in insurance as a secretary in Los Angeles for a couple of months before returning to Seattle where she was employed with Boeing in their personnel office as a secretary for the recreation department. Around this time, she met Don Ubben (coincidentally also employed with Boeing), whom she married on September 16, 1960, at her parent’s house. Don was transferred by Boeing to Merritt Island, Florida shortly after their wedding. After the move, Barb also got on with Boeing as part of the NASA Minuteman Missile project at Cape Canaveral. She worked there full-time as a secretary and doing tape layout. After a couple of years, Boeing transferred the family of now three back to Seattle, and in 1966 the family moved again to Blue Rapids, KS to take over Don’s family farm. Barbara enjoyed her time in the late 1980s working alongside close friends Cassie Mather and Opal Skalla as a typesetter at the Blue Rapids Times.

Barb enjoyed snow skiing, playing games (especially card games like Bridge), badminton, and bowling (she was on Stanley’s Hy-Klas sponsored team from Blue Rapids for many years). While in Florida, Barb and Don owned a boat with which they enjoyed water skiing, snorkeling, and fishing. While living on the family farm, Barb enjoyed many hours mowing and working in her large garden. In her later years, Barb enjoyed working crossword and jigsaw puzzles and frequent trips to nearby casinos to play the penny slots. Her absolute favorite treat was a Hershey’s candy bar.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Don Ubben; oldest sister, Patricia Dixon; brother-in-law, Jack VanLeuven; and son-in-law, Steve Hammett.

Survivors include her sister, Dorothy VanLeuven, Lacey, WA; children, Teresa Hammett, Marysville, Greg (Susan) Ubben, Laurel, MD, Todd Ubben, Manhattan, KS; and grandsons, Jason (Shannen) Hammett and Dustin (Caitlin) Hammett.

A memorial fund is established and will be designated later. Contributions may be sent to the Barbara Ubben Memorial Fund in care of Kinsley Mortuary, Marysville, KS.