Barbara Schmidt

On February 22nd, 2022, Barbara (Roberts, Bell, Barr, Schmidt) took her final flight as she flew to the heavens to join her loved ones. She fought long and hard against her illness, and now she is at peace and is no longer in pain. She was born at home into a large family consisting of five brothers and two sisters in upstate, NY. Just a little extra information here, and as you read into this, you will understand why I include this tidbit. On my mothers birth, Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic stay tuned; I will fill you in. She was preceded in death by her parents, Marjorie and James Roberts; husbands, Jack Barr and Robert Schmidt; her son, Daniel Bell; brothers, William Phelan, who was killed in WWII, Don Roberts, George Roberts, John Roberts, and Howard Roberts, all military veterans from the Army, Air Force, and Navy; sister, Mary (Moe) Roberts. She is survived by her daughter, Debbie Bell; grandson, Christopher Bell and his wife Claire; granddaughter, Toni Marie and her son Sean; four great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; sister, Helen Kuhn; sister in law, Judy Roberts; 2 God-given bonus daughters, Debbie Campbell and Gina Turner; she is also survived by many nieces and nephews. Barbara was an extraordinary woman who left behind an incredible legacy and life story. She attended Monroe High School, and she was quite an accomplished baton twirler. She joined the Civil Air Patrol in 1950 and had her first plane ride in a piper cub, and this began her interest in aviation. While in Civil Air Patrol, she met James Bell, and they shared a passion for flying. They were married when Barbara graduated school, and together they forged ahead with the plans to build an airplane. They found plans in a Mechanics Illustrated magazine and built an experimental Baby Ace. They salvaged some of the plane parts, and it was quite a sight to see a car going down the road with a plane fuselage on top of their car! I am sure the neighbors were intrigued to see the tail of a plane sticking out of our garage! Jim and Barbara both got their pilots license and enjoyed many fly-in breakfasts together. The Baby Ace was a single-seat open cockpit aircraft, and since there were two pilots in the family, they decided to build a second experimental aircraft. This time they built a Biplane, so this became Jims plane, and Barbara flew the Baby Ace, named Danny Boy after my brother. During this time, Barbara was also working a full-time job for RT French Company, raising two children. She was a very accomplished seamstress and made a lot of our clothes and an excellent cook, who made all our holidays memorable. On November 19th, 1961, Barbara showed at the Bloomfield Flying Club, and part of the ritual is to cut off a piece of their shirt and tack it up. In 1962, mom received a “Mink Coat Award” ( no mink coat, just the award) from the experimental Aircraft Association for her article about building and flying her Baby Ace. In 1963 Barbara was the first woman to fly a home-built experimental aircraft into the EAA airshow in Rockford, Illinois. In 1963 Barbara wrote another article that I believe was published in the Air Progress Magazine, and this is a quote from her. “There is nothing I could mention that gives a more definite feeling of being airborne than in an open cockpit with the wind blowing past the top of your head or the occasional smell of wood smoke drifting up to you. And in the winter, with temperatures in the mid-30s, you go sliding down the runway on skis and on up into the nippy air. Of course, you are glad to land again, and the cool flight leaves you tingly.” Yes, you read that right skis on the plane in the winter! Now, mind you, this was when pilots flew with minimal electronic devices there would be rooftops with directions that would help them to their destination. Unfortunately, due to divorce, the planes were sold and Barbara focused on a new path. She worked hard and obtained her Certified Professional Secretary certificate. In 1990 she became President of the Business Professional Women of Webster, NY. In 1987, she designed a new lapel pin for the Rochester, NY Flower City Chapter of Professional Secretaries International, and from 1991 to 1992, she was the President of this chapter. In 1994 I had the privilege of introducing her to a co-worker of mine, Jack Barr. It really was a storybook romance. They moved to Florida in 1995 and married. They both enjoyed years of volunteering at Rainbow Springs Park, rebuilding brick walkways, being Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, and many other ventures. Barbara made elaborate bunny costumes for Easter time. During this time, Barbara worked for the Ocala Star-Banner and had her own column where she would interview interesting people in their community. Barbara still had her helmet and goggles from her flying days, and she would don her flying gear and give talks about Amelia Earhart at different functions. Unfortunately, Jack passed in 1998, and she was devastated. In 1999 she met and married Robert Schmidt, and he graciously also volunteered at Rainbow Springs Park and had no problem putting on the bunny costume to help pass out Easter goodies to children in their community. Robert was a member of the American Legion, and they enjoyed going to many conventions with their legion friends. They also enjoyed going on several cruises. Due to blindness, Robert went into assisted living in 2014, and Barbara was unable to stay alone in their home and did not feel ready for assisted living, so she decided to move to Tennessee with me. Sadly Robert passed away in 2021. Barbara moved to Kingsport, TN, in 2014, where she enjoyed meeting new friends and going to the farmers market for her favorite cinnamon roll and to get her babies and dog fix. My God-given sisters moved in in 2006 to help with moms care. She loved going on the greenbelt, and we would take her as often as she wanted. She also enjoyed going to baseball games and was actually given the game ball and ended up on the front page of the paper! Bless her heart, momma sure enjoyed being in Kingsport and making new friends, and I certainly loved telling her story every chance I got. So to tie together in regards to Amelia Earhart, mom gave speeches about her for years! The irony is that mom was born on the day that Amelia Earhart took a trans-Atlantic flight from Newfoundland and went on to honor and educate others about her and that in 1991 my father, while en-route to deliver a plane, crashed and died on the side of a mountain in St. Johns Newfoundland. In a prior conversation, I asked mom who she wanted to see first. She said Jack, Amelia Earhart, and Susan B Anthony. I would like to thank so many people for the wonderful care that was provided for my mother. From doctors to the church family, and God bless my carousel family that helped cross off one of her wishes on her bucket list, which was to ride the carousel one more time. I would also like to thank the Amedysis Hospice worker, who showed so much love and compassion during this difficult time. I know that it has taken me a long time to write this, but I wanted to honor her best I could. I am sure I may have left some things out, but hey, maybe I will get her book published, and you can read about it. Donations may be made to Girls Incorporated or an animal shelter in honor of mom. She was all about empowering young girls and women and was crazy about dogs. I may have a celebration of life in the future. This obituary was written by Debbie Bell (daughter of Barbara) Trinity Memorial Centers Funeral Home (423-723-8177) is honored to serve the Schmidt family.