Maxine D. Barbee
Maxine D. Barbee of Grace Village Retirement Community of Winona Lake, Ind. passed away at 7 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017 at Grace Village Health Care of Winona Lake at the age of 90.
She was born on Aug. 5, 1927 in Batavia, Mich. to Fern Irene (Smead) Parker and George Dillon. On Aug. 18, 1956 she was married to Glenn L. Barbee, who preceded her in death in February 1986.
Maxine graduated from high school in Coldwater, Mich. in 1945, and continued her education for two years at Houghton College in New York. She also attended Marion College in Indiana and graduated in 1955 with a bachelor degree in elementary education, and received her master’s degree in 1970 from Indiana University.
She spent a lifetime teaching hundreds of children during her teaching career. Maxine was a kindergarten teacher at La Porte Community Schools until 1987, and retired in 1999 from Grace Baptist Christian School in Plymouth, Ind. She was a resident of Kosciusko County, Indiana since 2008 where she attended Community Grace Brethren Church in Warsaw and was a member of the Winona Literary Club. She will be dearly missed by her former students, friends, and her beloved family.
She will be lovingly remembered by her daughter: Aimee (husband Gary) Nifong (Warsaw); and her granddaughter: Emily Nifong (Warsaw). She was preceded in death by her parents, brother, Duane Dillon, and her step-brother, Dale Parker.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017 from 4 – 8 p.m. at Redpath-Fruth Funeral Home, 225 Argonne Road, Warsaw.
Her funeral service will be conducted at 3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017 at Community Grace Brethren Church, 909 S. Buffalo Street, Warsaw, and officiated by Pastor Roy Chapin. Burial will follow with a graveside service at Door Village Cemetery in La Porte, Ind.