Barbara Farr Romney

Barbara Farr Romney was born in Provo, Utah on November 10, 1932, to Helen Mar Kimball and Erron Williams Farr. She had four brothers—Laretus (or Rete, as we called him), Melvin, Andrew, and Lloyd. She also had two sisters, Genevieve and Margaret. Later, she gained a stepsister, Georgianne, when her father remarried after his first wife died.

In 1938, 6-year-old Barbara came down with rheumatic fever. She spent a year in bed; sometimes her mother would carry her around the house. It wasn’t until many years later that she learned how rheumatic fever had damaged her heart. Whenever she was pregnant, the doctor would tell her that she had a heart murmur, but no one explained what was causing the murmur. That murmur was a foreshadowing of the pulmonary hypertension that turned her life upside down in her 60s.

When Barbara was in 8th grade she moved with her family to a farm just outside of Mesa, Arizona. Her most cherished memories of her youth were from the two years they lived in Arizona. She loved the turkeys, except for the mean one who loved to chase her. She fell off a horse once, but that didn’t keep her from riding a horse for hours and hours herding cows.

Barbara learned to milk the cows and put on the milkers. She and Andrew, her little brother, earned $20 a month cleaning the milking machines each night; they used the money to buy their own school clothes.

Barbara also learned to drive in Arizona—the hard way. Her dad left her in a pasture with a Jeep, telling her to “herd the cows and keep them from getting into the fresh green hay which could cause them to bloat.” When some of the cows started moving toward the green hay, Barbara started the Jeep and “kept putting it into gear until it moved forward.” That’s how she learned to drive and “safely” herd the cows. “Those were great days!” she wrote in her personal history.

When Barbara’s mother, Helen, developed cancer, the family moved back to Payson, Utah, so Helen could go to a specialist in Salt Lake City. Unfortunately, she died 18 months later. Barbara was just 16 years old; her younger brothers were 11 and 6. Her father, Erron, later married Ruth Brinkerhoff; Ruth brought her daughter, Georgianne, to join the family.

When the Farrs moved to Payson, Babara started attending Payson High School. She loved performing in dance recitals as part of her gym class—she performed tap dances and Nutcracker dances. She was also in the pep club and marched at half-time at all the basketball games.

After high school, her parents sent Barbara to Denver Business School, on what she called “a trumped-up scholarship…she had no idea how she had gotten it.” She hated the whole experience. She felt out of place because all the other students seemed to already know how to do everything—she only knew how to type. She begged her father to let her come home in December. He let her come home. It was meant to be….

In January of the next year, Barbara went on a date with a handsome returned missionary who just happened to be the older brother of her best friend, Emmy Lou Romney. His name was Frank McAllister Romney, and he was just getting ready to go to BYU. According to Mom, she was his first and last date. They were engaged by the middle of February, and they were married on May 2, 1951, in the Salt Lake Temple; Barbara’s favorite uncle, Elder Spencer W. Kimball, performed the sealing.

Frank and Barbara headed to Bryce Canyon for their honeymoon. Unfortunately, their honeymoon was cut short because Frank had been drafted; 13 days after their wedding, Frank reported to basic training in California and Washington state. The country was embroiled in the Korean war, but luckily, Frank was assigned to Germany and Barbara was going with him…until they got to New York City. They were getting ready to board the ship that would take them to Germany, when the general in charge decided that spouses and dependents would not be going along. So, Barbara turned around and went back to Utah, where she lived with various relatives.

While Frank was in Germany, Barbara gave birth to their first daughter, Alane. Barbara sent monthly photos of Alane to Frank, letting him see how his daughter was growing. When Frank came home from Germany, Alane was 18 months old; father and daughter started to get to know each other.

The little family moved into Wymount Village, the married student housing at BYU, and Frank started working on his accounting degree. Peggy Ann soon joined their family.

When Peggy was 6 months old and Barbara was pregnant with Sheila, Alane, now 2½, became extremely ill. She was diagnosed with leukemia. She died within a few weeks of diagnosis, breaking her mother’s and father’s hearts. Barbara wrote in her personal history that having Peggy and Sheila helped her get through the grief of losing Alane.

When Peggy was 14 months old and Sheila was 2½ months old, Frank graduated and received a job offer in California, so they packed up all their belongings and headed off to Los Angeles. Over the next few years, a son whom they named Frank, and two daughters, Diana and Linda, joined the Romney clan.

After spending eleven years in California, Frank was transferred back to Utah. Frank and Barbara built a beautiful home on Mutton Hollow Road in Kaysville, Utah. They raised their family there and grew old.

Barbara was very involved in the LDS Church, having served as a primary teacher, MIA leader, MIA president, Young Adult Leader (ward and stake level), Relief Society 2nd Counselor, and stake Relief Society homemaking counselor. She and Frank also served a mission to Majorca, Spain.

In 1998, Barbara was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, an illness she had been living with for at least two years. She was given a 2-to-5-year life expectancy. But she obviously didn’t pay attention. Over the years, she suffered a broken back, a broken hip, and a broken pelvis; any of those injuries could have led to her death. But she kept going, earning the nickname Energizer Bunny®. Barbara’s back slowly collapsed due to osteoporosis, requiring vertebroplasty, an injection of a material that hardens the vertebrae and relieves pain.

In August 2015, Barbara fell down the stairs in her house and broke her hip. Not long after, Frank had a stroke. By Christmas, she and Frank had moved into Apple Village, a care center near their daughter Diana’s home. They were heartbroken when they had to leave their home, where they had lived for 50 years and where they expected to live until they died.

Diana was able to visit every day, assisting Mom and Dad with anything they needed; their son Frank also spent as much time with them as he could. Peggy, Sheila, and Linda visited whenever they could. Frank was very unhappy at Apple Village; he declined in health and died on May 17, 2018, leaving Barbara alone.

Then came Covid. Barbara was stuck in her room; she couldn’t visit with her Apple Village friends and visitors were limited. Sheila decided to retire and make room for Mom at her house so Mom could be free “to move about the cabin” and visit with family and friends. Sheila lovingly cared for Mom for almost four and a half years. Diana gladly welcomed Mom into her home 5 months ago.

Barbara suffered a stroke on Friday, March 7, 2025. She died on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. She was 92. She outlived her 2-to-5-year life expectancy by 27 years. Way to go, Energizer Bunny!

Barbara has six children: Alane (deceased); Peggy Ann (Cody) Huft; Sheila (Roy) Waddoups; Frank (Linda) Romney; Diana (Scott) Fletcher; and Linda (Blake) Swain. She has 29 grandchildren, 67 great-grandchildren (and counting…), and 2 great-great-grandchildren. Barbara is also survived by her sister-in-law, Pat Farr, brother-in-law, Dean Swenson, and many loving nieces and nephews.

Barbara was preceded in death by her husband, Frank M. Romney, her daughter, Alane Romney, two grandsons, Matthew and Tyler Romney, and by her siblings, Laretus, Margaret, Genevieve, Melvin, Andrew, Lloyd, and Georgianne.

The family would like to thank Ronal Ruby from Atlas Hospice for her kind, tender care of our mom during the last weeks of her life.

Funeral services will be held Monday, March 24, 2025, at 11 a.m. at the Lakeview Ward, 2505 North Church Street, Layton, Utah. Friends may visit family Sunday, March 23, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lindquist’s Kaysville Mortuary, 400 N. Main Street, and Monday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the church.

Interment, Kaysville City Cemetery, 500 E. Crestwood Road

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