Eleanor Katherine Barnstable, 103, of Nokomis, died on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023, at Taylorville Care Center.
Visitation will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 10, at South Fork United Methodist Church in Nokomis. Funeral services will begin at 11 a.m. at the church with Pastor Dayle Badman officiating. Interment will follow at Kettelkamp Cemetery. Sutton Memorial Home of Nokomis in is assisting the family with arrangements.
Mrs. Barnstable was born on Feb.19, 1920, in Rosamond Township, to the late Walter E. Buchholz and Mary K. Schmidt. She married Cecil H. Barnstable on Sept. 13, 1939, and he preceded her in death in 2002.
Mrs. Barnstable graduated from Nokomis Township High School. She was a homemaker and farmwife. Mrs. Barnstable was the oldest living member of South Fork United Methodist Church in Nokomis. She was a 4-H leader in her younger days and was active in the women’s group at church most of her adult life. Mrs. Barnstable was known for her love of cooking and made everything from scratch. She spoiled her family with homemade Chex mix, strawberry jam, piccalilli, noodles, pies, cakes, cookies and much more. She was able to do all this on her own until she was 93 when she recruited her family to help continue this tradition.
Mrs. Barnstable was an excellent seamstress and could fix anything from a missing button to multi-layered prom dresses, sewing by hand or with her treadle sewing machine. She had a green thumb and loved to garden. Her wry and sarcastic sense of humor often surprised people. She was very independent and was able to live in her own home past her 103rd birthday.
Mrs. Barnstable is survived by her daughter, Linda (Charles) Cochran of Nokomis; grandchildren, Sandra (Robin) McBride of Monahans, TX, Scott Bradley of Mooresville, IN, Sonya Maretti of Nokomis and Steve (Donna) Bradley of Franklin, IN; thirteen great-grandchildren; seventeen great-great-grandchildren; and one great-great-great-grandchild on the way.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; and siblings, Lloyd Buchholz and Vivian Williams.
Memorials may be made to South Fork United Methodist Church, St. Louis Catholic School or the Nokomis Food Pantry. Condolences may be left online at suttonmemorialhome.com.
