Barbara N. Summers

Barbara Lynn (née Nash) Summers, 77, of Overland Park, Kansas, passed away at home on Thursday, September 11, 2025, after a hard-fought battle with leukemia. A beloved sister, aunt, teacher, and devoted friend to many, she will be dearly missed.

Lovingly called ‘Aunt B’ by nieces and nephews, Barbara was born on August 23, 1948, in Springfield, Ohio, to Edward Anthony and Regina Frances (née Hilbert) Nash. The youngest of four Nash daughters, she was adored by her parents and three sisters, Joan, Margie, and Susan. Barbara spent her early childhood in Springfield, and the family moved to the Chicago area in 1957. As a teenager she attended Lyons Township High School in La Grange, Illinois. Barbara then went on to pursue a bachelor’s degree in education at the University of Kansas, joining her sister Susan as a loyal Jayhawk fan. She frequently cheered on the Jayhawks at sporting events, and she joined Gamma Phi Beta sorority where she forged wonderful friendships and fond memories. Barbara later earned a master’s degree in liberal arts.

After her college years, Barbara settled in the Kansas City area and began a long career in education. Throughout her career, Barbara made a lasting impact on many. She taught middle school and high school French in the Shawnee Mission school district and was a favorite teacher and friendly confidante to many students, within the walls of her classroom and beyond. In keeping with her penchant for French language and culture, Barbara traveled to France a few times and held a great appreciation for French literature. Her students recall that she read The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry with them each school year.

Barbara met the love of her life, Frank Boydston Summers III, whom she dated for several years and married in 1998. Together, Barbara and Frank lived a very active life. They enjoyed traveling to Florida on several occasions, were Chiefs football season ticket holders, participated in many barbecue competitions, and frequently cooked for and entertained friends and family at their Leawood home or at Chiefs tailgate parties. While they had a lot of fun, life was not always easy; Barbara fought and survived breast cancer with Frank at her side as a caring companion.

Frank left this world in 2010. Barbara felt the loss of her husband deeply, yet in true Barbara fashion, she marched forward and kept busy spending time with family and friends, exercising, reading, traveling, and volunteering in the community. It’s hard to put into words what a cherished aunt and friend Barbara was. When her sister Susan passed away, she without hesitation stepped in as a devoted mother figure to her niece and nephew, and later a surrogate grandmother who often cheered on her grand-nieces and nephews in their athletic and theatrical endeavors. She was known for being a wonderful listener, practical, classy, kind, intelligent, a sports fanatic, and beautiful. Her former students often comment on her reputation as the prettiest teacher at their school. But her family and friends remember her most for how thoughtful she was; how she checked in on them, remembered birthdays and important events, and was always quick to lend a helping hand or simply spend time together.

Barbara is survived by her sister, Margie Nash (Larry, Sr.) Stelzer of Columbus, Ohio, and her nieces and nephews, Clayton Hess, Dana Davis, Ed Rizer, Susie Whitacre, Mike Rizer, Anne Drayton, Jane Weller, Molly Louden, Larry Stelzer, Patsy Chillura, Kurt Stelzer, and John Stelzer. She is preceded in death by her husband, Frank Summers, her sisters Joan Nash Rizer and Susan Nash Hess, and her parents.

Her funeral service will be at 2 pm on Friday, October 3, at Penwell-Gabel's Olathe chapel, 14275 S. Black Bob Road, with a reception following until 4 pm. The family requests that donations in Barbara’s memory be made to the University of Kansas Health System to support cancer care.

This excerpt from The Little Prince was one of Barbara’s favorites:

‘In one of those stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night. And when your sorrow is comforted (time soothes all sorrows) you will be content that you have known me. You will always be my friend… I shall not leave you.’ - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

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