A Brief Tribute to Barbara Anderson (my mother-in-law)

Saturday evening, January 15, 2022, Julie's mom Barbara (Brown) Anderson died after a three-week battle with COVID. She was fully vaccinated and extremely careful, but someone somehow inadvertently exposed her to the Omicron variant. That became a breakthrough infection for her. She had a health condition that put her in the high-risk category. The virus seemed relatively innocuous at first but slowly made its way to her lungs. It seemed to us that she would recover, but her condition took a rapid turn for the worse on Saturday. She had just turned 81.

Barbara was blessed beyond words. She always knew the love of her family and the love of the church. And she never veered from her faith in God despite many legitimate, thoughtful questions that put her in good standing with the saints of all ages. What a great legacy!

She passed that blessing on to us and many others. We are saddened beyond words at her passing. My heart goes out especially to Julie's dad Bob. They were married 59 years and lived together in the same Austin, Texas house for over 50 of those years where they raised two kids and hosted many family gatherings.

To really know my mother-in-law, you'd need to understand a bit about her childhood. She was a preacher's kid and the oldest of three children. Back in the days of her childhood, Church of Christ preachers moved every three years. It was a world of competing polarities, like strictness and generosity. Strict in the sense that there were clear rules to follow and outward appearances to maintain at all costs. Generous in the sense that her dad felt the need to always be giving away what little he had.

I think this helps explain the amazing and at times paradoxical character traits that defined Barbara. She could be very pragmatic about so many things, yet also "dramatic" about things that mattered deeply to her. She was very thrifty with resources, yet also generous toward hidden and deserving causes. She was at times reserved, often preferring to observe rather than engage, but could roar to life on a topic at church or in conversation that sparked her interest. She was conservative in her basic values, yet liberal in her stance toward others.

As a preschool teacher, she was excellent at what she did. She had a wide range of experiences in her field, teaching both in public and private schools and directing a Presbyterian church's preschool. She was well on her way to completing a PhD at the University of Texas and might have gone on to teach college classes, but she contented herself with being in the classroom with the little ones. She was completely at home in that world and generously plowed much of her own salary back into her work over the years.

There are so many good things to say about Barbara. From my position as a son-in-law, one quality stands out above the rest. She generously gave other people the chance to soar high in life. Look at the picture below of the dinosaur shoes. Julie's teaching assistants gave her these for Christmas. When I look at them, I can only think about Julie's mom. It's exactly the kind of thing she wore for decades. She gave Julie the skills and tools to soar high as a preschool teacher. And even beyond. Julie is now teaching college classes in preschool special education. I know Julie as someone who is wonderful just on her own, but I can also see the incredible boost given her in life by her mom. She excels in part because of this head start gifted to her.

I could say similar things about Julie's brother Rob, a person whose remarkable gifts are a blessing to so many people. His life of ministry, teaching and service is a tribute to his mom. And to a lesser extent, I would bet the same is true for countless young people and so many others who may not even remember Mrs. Anderson's name.

Barbara is the kind of person, of whom there are no doubt many, whose diligent, quiet, and often unnoticed work carry out the mission of God. The world will not be fully restored until Jesus comes again, but people like my mother-in-law help God stem the tide and repair the damage in the meantime. Oh that we might all be so blessed to know people like Barbara who give us the chance to soar in this life and beyond.

We'll miss Julie's mom. But I am comforted that she will hear the words of our loving Father, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the rest of your Master." May she rest in peace, and rise in glory.