Cover photo for Barbara Lavon Walton's Obituary
Barbara Lavon Walton Profile Photo
In Memory Of
Barbara Lavon Walton
1929 2023

Barbara Lavon Walton

August 4, 1929 — October 19, 2023

Barbara Lavon (nee Pratt) Walton, 94, Olathe, Kansas, eased gently out of this life on Thursday, October 19, 2023, surrounded by the people she loved most, her family. Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. Friday, October 27, at Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home, 14275 South Black Bob Road, Olathe, Kansas, immediately preceded by a visitation at the same location from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Barbara would want all who knew her not to mourn her loss but to celebrate her long and rich life. She will be remembered for her unwavering commitment to nurturing others, and as a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, friend and teacher. Her legacy resides in the hearts of the family she reared, friends she cherished, and the thousands of students she taught.

Barbara was born on August 4, 1929 in Los Angeles, California. A child of the Great Depression, her family moved over 12 times during the 1930s and early 1940s. She was living in Sunflower Village, Kansas during World War II when she met the love of her life, Herbert Wilson Walton, whom she married in 1949. Their marriage lasted 50 years and ended with Herbert's death in 1999. Following Herbert's service in the United States Navy, the couple moved to Olathe, Kansas, where Barbara would live for the next 70 years. Barbara received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Education from the University of Kansas, and taught elementary students at Ridgeview School in Olathe for decades before retiring in 1992. She spent her retirement years caring for others—her husband through his final illness, and for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren when they needed it, which was often!

Barbara is survived by her four children and their spouses—Michael (Suzanne) Walton, Connie (Greg Klein) Walton, Steve (Sandra) Walton, and Cindy (Tim) Gillies; by her nine grandchildren and their spouses—Michelle (Michael) Liem, Ashley (Ryan) Akers, Jai Jai (Jamie) Lester, Jessica Kaunley, Jacob (Sarah) Kaunley, Dallas (Megan) Kaunley, Jared (Taylor) Kaunley, Michael Walton and Maddux Walton; and by her 14 great-grandchildren—Ethan, Jason and Bryden Liem, Bradley, Alex and Catelyn Lester, and Jaden, Payton, Madalyn, Olivia, Weston, Graham, Carolyn and Emmie Kaunley.

The family suggests that in lieu of flowers contributions be made in Barbara's honor to the Alzheimer's Association, www.alz.org.

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Service Schedule

Past Services

Visitation

Friday, October 27, 2023

9:30 - 11:00 am (Central time)

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Service

Friday, October 27, 2023

Starts at 11:00 am (Central time)

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

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