Payne County Obituary
Fairlawn Cemetery (Stillwater)

© Strode Funeral Home
Date unknown
Reprinted with permission
Submitted by: Jo Aguirre

BARBARA KAY PASS

20 Feb 1953 - 17 Jan 2018

Barbara K. Pass died early Wednesday morning, January 17, 2018 of complications from Crohn’s Disease. Services will be held 10:00 a.m. on Monday, January 22, 2018 at the Strode Funeral Home Chapel in Stillwater, OK. Interment will follow at Fairlawn Cemetery.

Barbara was born in Stillwater, OK to Hartwill and Martha Malinda (Warkentin) Pass on February 20, 1953.

She attended Stillwater schools and graduated from Stillwater High School in 1971. She was an accomplished athlete and won many medals and trophies as a member of the Stillwater Aquatic Club. She also played the cello and was a member of the Stillwater High School orchestra and competed in state music contests as a soloist. Barbara attended Oklahoma State University 1971-1975, receiving a BS in accounting (1974) and a MS in accounting (1975). While in college Barbara played cello in the OSU Symphony Orchestra and was one of the few students of Evan Tonsing who was not a music major. She also competed for the OSU Women’s Swim Team and qualified for the AIAW (Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) National Finals in 1973 as a member of the Big 8 champion medley relay team. Upon graduation, Barbara became a CPA and accepted a job at the Oklahoma State Board of Regents as an accountant. In 1982 she returned to OSU and completed a MS in Computer Science in 1983. Upon graduation she accepted a job at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM and worked there as a software engineer for 26 years, completing many projects for the US Air Force, US Department of Energy and the Department of Defense. While in Albuquerque, Barbara became a hot air balloon pilot and participated several times in the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta with her balloon, A Bee in a Breeze.

Barbara joined the Oklahoma National Guard in 1977, completed Officer Candidate School and was commissioned in the Finance Corps. She later transferred to the US Army Reserves and served mostly with the 4003rd US Army Garrison in Oklahoma City, OK. She retired in 1998 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After her retirement from Sandia National Labs, Barbara returned to Stillwater in 2010 so that she could attend all the OSU sporting events and be close to her family. She loved attending as many OSU football, basketball, tennis, and wrestling events as she could. She became an active Ambassador volunteer at The Botanic Garden at OSU and especially loved working in the Rock Garden and The Cactus and Succulents Patio Garden. She had grown many cactus and succulent plants in New Mexico and shared that expertise at The Botanic Garden. She and her sister took several construction and woodworking classes at Meridian Technology to prepare for the renovation of her kitchen. That renovation project took almost 2 years but was a major accomplishment for her.

Barbara was a member of Military Officers Association of America, Reserve Officer’s Association, O Club Lettermen’s Club, and many honorary academic, accounting, and computer science societies.

Preceded in death by her father, Barbara is survived by her Mother, Martha of Stillwater, OK and her sister, Joyce Pass Taylor of Stillwater.

Condolences may be emailed to the family and an online obituary may be viewed by visiting www.strodefh.com.