(VANCLEVE) WATKINS Barbara Lorraine (VanCleve) Watkins slipped away from her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to rejoin the love of her life on February 1st, 2017 surrounded by family. She was born on December 22, 1924, at a farmhouse outside Altoona, Iowa to Walter and Juanita (Funk) VanCleve. Weighing barely more than three pounds at birth, she was tucked gently into a shoebox and placed on the windowsill with the caution that she probably was too small to make it.  She was the second of four children. A stellar student, her senior year in high school she met a handsome junior college student who became the love of her life.  She started dating Dan Watkins, who was studying civil engineering.  He went on to Iowa State, but chose to interrupt his studies to join the Navy V-12 program as a Sea Bee in 1943.  Stationed in Pearl Harbor, he wanted Barbara to join him and get married, but they had to wait until the war ended. Dan returned and finished his degree at Iowa State with Barb at his side. They married on September 9, 1946, in Albia, Iowa and on their first anniversary brought the first of 15 children home from the hospital.  They moved to Kansas City in 1947 for Dan to start his career at HNTB, and his position there allowed them to travel the world together. They often told their children it was the best education one could get. They moved to Prairie Village in 1949, and Barbara lived in the same neighborhood the rest of her life. She said she couldn't imagine leaving "The Village".  After retirement they spent winters in Hawaii, which became almost a second home. They brought their children there to celebrate their 35 th wedding anniversary, sharing with us the many sights and memories they had come to love. They had a 58 year love affair before Dan died in 2004. Barbara often said that while she never worked outside the home, she ran a daycare for many years, and then added a home for wayward teens.  Matching Dan's civil engineering expertise, she became a world class domestic engineer.  She made running a household into a science, stretching a dollar to cover all possible needs, cooking delicious meals daily and becoming a master seamstress.  Topping it off, she accomplished all of this one- handed as she toted a baby on her hip.  Nothing brightened her mood like seeing and holding an infant. Barb also embraced the Catholic faith with her heart and soul when she married Dan, and instilled her love for the Church in all of her kids. She was a great example in her daily witness until the end, and inspired an untold number who met her. Barbara was predeceased by her sister, Helen and brother, Dick.  She is survived by her younger brother, Jim (Mary Beth) VanCleve. She was also preceded in death by a son, Paul Gerard, and a daughter and son in law, Alice and Jim Scherzberg.  Left to mourn are her remaining 13 children, Dan (Phyllis), Bob (Julie), John (Melissa), Marianne (Stan) Magady, Jeanne (Gene) Schinstock, Tom (Kyung), Jim (Ruth), Barb Sack (Gene) Hodges, Bill (Connie), Molly (Dan) DiCarlo, Frances (Neil) Douthat, David (Theresa), and Patrick (Shannon).  Also missing her are 47 grandchildren and 44 great- grandchildren. There will be a visitation at McGilley and Hoge Memorial Chapel at 8024 Santa Fe Dr. in Overland Park on Sunday, February 5th, from 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm and a Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, February 6th at Saint Rose Philippine at 5035 Rainbow Boulevard.  In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Saint Rose Philippine or Conception Abbey, Conception MO. Online condolences may be left at www.mcgilleyhoge.com. Arr: McGilley & Hoge, 8024 Santa Fe Dr, Overland Park, KS 66204 M