Lilyan June Barnes

Lilyan June (Summa) Barnes, of Sedalia, Missouri, formerly of Albany, Missouri, died on her 97th birthday, June 2, 2023. “June” Summa was born on June 2, 1926, in rural Gentry County. She was the daughter of Buel “Doc” Summa and Beryl (Wayman) Summa.

June attended country schools (Pin Hook and Pleasant Valley) north of Albany and graduated from Albany High School in 1944. During the summers of 1944 and 1945, she attended Maryville State Teacher’s College (now Northwest Missouri State University) to be certified as a “one-room” country schoolteacher. She taught for three years from 1944-1947 at the Dawson School near Denver, Missouri. On July 20, 1945, she married Raymond Welton Barnes, her high school sweetheart and neighbor in Troy, Kansas.

After the birth of her two children—Terry and Sherry, June provided a wonderful home for her family and served as a Cub Scouts den mother and Brownie Scouts leader. June was an avid participant in her children’s home, school, and church activities and was always humble about their accomplishments. Over the years, her vivid memory enabled her to tell and write stories about her life, both on the farm and in Albany. Her home and her “coffee group” were her pride and joy.

At age 43, when her children were in college, she returned to Northwest Missouri State College to become a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN.) She put her new nursing degree to good use in tenderly caring for the sick and elderly at the Gentry County Hospital and Albany Colonial Manor Nursing Home and later as a Hospice Care volunteer.

June was a long-time member of the Albany First Christian Church and served faithfully in many leadership and organizational capacities. She later attended the Parkview Christian Church in Sedalia, Missouri.

She was a 50-year member and past president of the Veteran of Foreign Wars (VFW) Auxiliary, the Scio Club, and the Christian Women’s Fellowship. In addition, she earned her 50-year pin in the Eastern Star organization—all in Albany.

Survivors are son Terry Barnes (Virginia), Columbia, Missouri, and daughter, Sherry Vuagniaux (Timothy) of Sedalia, Missouri; Seven grand-children: Regan Pyle (Jeff), Elizabeth Howser (James), Christine McCullough (Michael), Michael Pearson (Amber), and Catherine Jones (Aaron); Corey Vuagniaux (Charity), and Anne Zurweller (Bradley); and 12 great-grandchildren, Nora and Gillian Pyle, Aubrey Vuagniaux and Jonah Zurweller, Sarah and David Howser, Jacob McCullough, Brody and Genevieve Pearson, James, William, and Alice Jones; sister-in-law June Summa and several nieces and nephews.

June was preceded in death by her husband of 26 years, Raymond Barnes, in 1972; her parents; brother, Ronald “Glee” Summa; mother-in-law and father-in-law Georgia (Pickering) and Walter Barnes; brothers-in-law John Edgar Barnes, Jack Stevens, Burl Long, and Jerry Marler; and sisters-in-law Mary Ruth Long Marler, Elizabeth Stevens Leteux and Ellen Barnes.

After cremation, Remembrance Services are pending in Albany, Missouri. The burial will be at the Albany Grandview Cemetery.