Barbara Jean Smith
Visitation will be 10am~12pm Monday, May 5, 2025, at Hennessey Funeral Home in Missouri Valley, Iowa. Funeral service will immediately follow at 12:00p.m.
The family invites everyone to a time of lunch and fellowship at Richard and Misty’s, 3015 Loomis Ave. Missouri Valley, Iowa, following the burial at Branson Cemetery.
Barbara Jean Smith, age 76, passed away at
Rose Vista Nursing Home on April 30, 2025.
Barbara was born November 27, 1948, in Council
Bluffs, Iowa to Fred and Dorothy (Marr) Hollinger. She was the 3rd born
out of eight siblings and one step sibling.
Barbara found love and married her first husband Richard (Dick) McClelland Sr. in 1969, to this union they had one son, Richard Jr., born in 1970. Dick suddenly passed away in 1977. Barbara met Paul Smith Sr., the two married in 1979 and they had one son, Paul Smith Jr., born in 1979. Together they raised the two boys that would become great men, husbands and father’s which made her very proud.
After Paul passed away in 2005, Barbara lived
with Rich. In 2022 Rich married Misty and the two helped care for Barbara until
she moved to Rose Vista Nursing Home in December 2024.
Barbara worked many jobs during her lifetime,
Dallas Greenhouse, Blue Star Foods, Frito Lay, Terminal Pack, Future Foam and
lastly as a Crossing Guard for Longfellow Elementary School in Council Bluffs.
She worked at the 23rd Avenue crossing, which was one of the busiest
crossings in Council Bluffs. She fought hard and finally got approved to have a
safety crosswalk light installed to help the kids have a safer place to cross.
In Barbara’s free time she enjoyed bowling, fishing,
playing cards, and BBQs with all the family. She especially loved making
blankets for the new babies in the family and Easter baskets for all the
children.
Those left behind to cherish her memory are
her sons; Richard (Misty) McClelland and Paul (Christine) Smith. Brothers; John
(Judy) Hollinger, Doug (Paula) Hollinger and Bobby (Lynn) Hollinger.
Grandchildren; Brynna Jean Smith, Connor Paulson Smith, Brandon Gill, Amanda
Berg, Krystal Jones. Many nieces, nephews, family and friends.
Barbara is preceded in death by her husband’s
Richard McClelland Sr. and Paul Smith Sr., parents Fred and Dorothy Hollinger, brothers,
Fred, Terry, James, Charles Hollinger, and William Hack, sister Dorothy May and
many in-laws.