Barbara McCullough

BARBARA MCCULLOUGH, 63, of Cleveland, Georgia passed away on Monday September 6th, 2011.
Barbara Ellen McCullough, nicknamed Bobby in her later years, was born on January 1, 1948, one minute after midnight on New Years Day in San Diego, California, the daughter of Patrick Oliver and Estelle Pansy Worley McCullough. The story from her mother is that she was named after the ballad Barbara Ellen, a song her mother said was her favorite while she was pregnant with her firstborn. Barbara lived most of her life in San Diego, moving to Georgia in her early 50s in the care of her brother Dan and his wife Suzan. She died on September 6, 2011, at the Friendship Health and Rehabilitation Center in Cleveland, Georgia. She was 63.

Growing up in San Diego, Barbara loved to watch Alfred Hitchcock and Boris Karloff movies and often did so with her younger siblings late at night so she could scare them at the appropriate moments. There wasnt much about Hollywood and movie stars she didnt know. She enjoyed reading romance and adventure books and would often take walks watching over the younger children in the family and neighborhood. At Herbert Hoover High School, her alma mater, she would dress up and attend the teen dances with her brother Dan and sister Susan, where she loved to dance. Her favorite band was the Beatles. Her room was plastered with posters and Beatles memorabilia. She and Susan were always the first to buy their hit records and all manner of memorabilia as Beatles fans.

The little girl in Barbara never left in that she loved to interact with and display her many baby dolls, the most recent an American Girl dollhair, eyes, and clothes made to orderthat she believed looked like her grandniece Hannah and herself when she was younger. Disney characters were also at the top of her list as she would imagine herself in their stories. One of her wishes was to have her ashes scattered at Disney World so she would forever be part of the magic.

Over the years Barbara collected and wore the gaudiest and most outrageous jewelry, hats, and pocketbooks, which only looked good on Bobby, mixed and matched in her eclectic sense of fashion design. Tyra, her niece, being the fashion guru of her time, made sure to keep Aunt Barbara in the latest style, often bringing her jewelry and hats that matched her outrageous sense of color and flair. Barbara made homemade gifts as well as embroidered tea towels with nature and flower scenes and gave them to her family and friends; they are detailed and beautiful and will always be cherished. She never married, stating once that she preferred to keep all the gentlemen waiting.

Later in life, Barbara settled at Friendship Health and Rehab in Georgia, where she was sometimes referred to as The Queen of Sheba by the nursing staff, who were known to state that she ruled the roost most days. She often had her favorite food, pizza, delivered there. Her love of animals always came out when Suzans dog Sadie visited, jumping up on her bed. His surprise appearances always seemed to calm her and make her laugh.

Although Barbaras health gradually declined, her quick wit and sharp tongue as well as her big smile, ability to change moods in a blink, and fresh outlook on life made her special to all who knew and loved her. She was at sweet peace when she asked to be taken home at the end.

Barbara is survived by her father Patrick and her stepmother Barbara McCulley; her siblings Daniel Michael McCullough and his wife Suzan of Gainesville, Georgia; Patricia ODell McCullough and her husband Steven Koch of Versailles, Kentucky; William Patrick McCullough of San Diego, California; and Patrick Oliver McCullough, II, of Westminster, Maryland. She is predeceased by her mother Estelle and her sister, Susan Jeannette McCullough Schofield. Her nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews include Tyra McCullough Jorgensen and her children Colton, Spencer, and Dylan of Gainesville, Georgia; Daniel Michael McCullough, II, his wife Anna Marie, and their children Christian and Hannah of Gainesville, Georgia; Sonya Huddleston and her children Kosmo and Mia of Iowa City, Iowa; Melissa Westfall and her children Paige, Timothy, and Faythe of Lake Elsinore, California; Brandon Leatherwood and Patrick Leatherwood of Woodbine, Maryland; Jacob Leatherwood of Versailles, Kentucky; Brian McCullough of Berkeley, California; Amanda Kirkland of Stevensville, Montana; and Heather McCullough of Waco, Texas.

Private services for family members only will be held at a later date. Interment of ashes will take place at Greenwood Memorial Cemetery in San Diego, California. Byars Funeral Home in Cummings, Georgia is in charge of arrangements. They can be reached at (678) 455-5815.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Smithgall Charles Humane Society, P.O. Box 2090, Cleveland, GA 30528-6238, (706) 865-4135.

The family of Barbara Bobby McCullough wishes to thank all the staff at the Friendship Health and Rehabilitation Center in Cleveland, Georgia for their understanding and care of our daughter, sister, aunt and great aunt. Please enjoy the pizza being delivered by Papas Pizza in Clermont, Georgia as we celebrate her life.
Barbaras siblings want to give special thanks to Suzan McCullough, our sister-in-law, for her many years of support and love in the care of Barbara, especially in the last hours of her life.

Arrangements by Byars Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 155 Professional Park Drive, Cumming, Georgia. (678) 455-5815.

Lyrics of Barbara Ellen, a Ballad

It was in the merry, merry month of May
When the green buds, they were swelling
Young William green on his deathbed lay
For the love of Barbara Ellen

He sent his servant to her town
To the place where she was dwelling
Saying master's sick and he sends for you
If your name is Barbara Ellen

So slowly, slowly she got up
And slowly she came nigh him
And all she said when she got there
Young man, I believe you're dying

"Oh yes, I'm low, I am very low
And death is on me dwelling
No better, no better I ever will be
For I can't get Barbara Ellen"

"Oh yes, you're low, you are very low
And death is on you dwelling
No better, no better you ever will be
For you can't get Barbara Ellen"

Oh don't you remember in yonder's town
In yonder's town a drinking
You raised your glass all around
And you slighted Barbara Ellen

Oh yes, I remember in yonder's town
In yonder's town a drinking
I gave my health to the ladies all around
But my heart to Barbara Ellen

He turned his pale face to the wall
For death was on him dwelling
"Adieu, adieu, good neighbors all
Adieu sweet Barbara Ellen"

As she was going across the fields
She heard those death bells knelling
And every stroke the dead-bell gave
"Hard-hearted Barbara Ellen"

"Oh mother, Mother, make my bed
Go make it long and narrow
Young William's died for me today
And I'll die for him tomorrow"

Oh, she was laid in the old church wall
And he was buried nigh her
And out of his bosom grew a red, red rose
And out of hers a briar

They grew, they grew up the old church tower
Till they could grow no higher
They locked and they tied in a true lover's knot
The red rose around the briar