Lorraine (Riordan) Barber

Lorraine Elizabeth (Barron) Riordan Barber, 91, of Ottawa passed away Thursday, December 3, 2015 at OSF St. Elizabeth Hospital. Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:00 AM Monday at St. Columba Church with Rev. David Kipfer officiating. Visitation will be 3:00 to 6:00 PM on Sunday at Ottawa Funeral Home in Ottawa. She will be buried in St. Columba Cemetery. An Ottawa native, Lorraine was born February 27, 1924 to Arthur W. and Elizabeth (Pleskovitch) Barron, Sr. She was a graduate of Ottawa Township High School and St. Anne School of Nursing in Chicago. She pursued many avenues in her nursing career, including being a Cadet Nurse in WWII at Percy Jones General Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan. In 1984, she retired from the LaSalle County Tuberculosis Clinic as Clinic Supervisor. In 1951, she married Dan R. Riordan, with whom she had five children. Dan passed away December 10, 1977. In 1986, she married William L. Barber. She is survived by her husband Bill Barber, five children: Karen (Murat) Ozbek of Sparks, NV; Kalah (John) Considine of Naperville, IL; Patrick (Lydia) Riordan of Austin, TX; Mary Beth Riordan (Hilton Davis) of Springfield, VA; Anne Riordan (Don Wisniewski) of South Bend, IN and eleven grandchildren: Marissa Considine, Regan Considine, Daniel Riordan, Sera Ozbek, Sean Riordan, Alexa Considine, Aydin Ozbek, Rosie Wisniewski, Caleigh Davis, Keenan Riordan and Andy Wisniewski. Additionally, she is survived by two stepchildren: Joyce Hoskins of Eagen, MN and Mike Barber of Coralville, IA; eight step-grandchildren, brothers Arthur (Mary) Barron of Santa Barbara, CA; Dr. John (Charlotte) Barron of Lexington, NE; sisters Adele Schott of Ottawa, IL; Donna Barron of Deerfield, IL and Zeta Conrad of Ottawa, IL; sisters-in-law Phyllis Riordan of Ottawa, IL and Doris Barron of Clearwater, FL and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Dan R. Riordan, brothers Raymond Barron, Lawrence Barron and Paul Barron; and sisters Ruth Turner and Shirley Miller. She was a past President of the Illinois Association of TB Treatment Boards and past Vice President of the American Lung Association. In retirement, she and Bill Barber moved to Keowee Key, South Carolina, where they lived for 21 years before moving back to Ottawa in 2013. While in SC, she was a Founding Board Member of the Calhoun Lecture Series at Clemson University. Memorials may be made to donor’s choice.