Obituary of Barbara Earlene Hardenbrook

Barbara Earlene Hardenbrook was born February 8, 1938, in Phoenix, Arizona, to Burley and Leota (Northrop) Ramsey. In time the Ramsey family moved to Ceres, California, where Barbara graduated high school in 1956. Barbara was a true cowgirl and competed in rodeo team competitions such as barrel racing. Her children and grandchildren were always impressed by her rodeo trophies, her photos with Roy Rogers, and the way she could always handle a horse. After high school, Barbara attended Modesto Junior College for two years, and then transferred to Fresno State U. where she graduated with a degree in Education. After college, Barbara took an elementary teaching position in San Jose, California, where she met Weldon Hardenbrook. The two married on June 30, 1962, and moved to Oakland, California, where Barbara taught school while Weldon finished his studies at the California College of Arts. After Weldon's graduation, the two moved back to San Jose, where Barbara taught elementary school in Cupertino. She has been a resident of the San Lorenzo Valley for the past 39 years. In 1973, Weldon and Barbara opened their home to a group of young Christians and founded the Christian Community Church. She continued to touch the hearts and minds of everyone she encountered in the school system, and especially her students. In 1987, Barbara converted to Orthodox Christianity along with her husband, who was ordained an Orthodox priest, and her entire church community. Now as a "Presbytera" (priest's wife), Barbara's involvement in the lives of others took on a deeper and more spiritual role. Naturally, and as a true peer, she counseled wives, aided young mothers, befriended teens, and influenced her In 1990, true to her spirit of service and ministry, Barbara helped found St. Lawrence Academy, one of the first Orthodox Christian schools on the West Coast Barbara is survived by her husband, Father John (Weldon) Hardenbrook, her daughter Olga (Sheri) and son in-law Father Stephen Karcher, their children Theodore, Alexander, Christiana, Sava, Athanasios, Eleni, and Joseph; her son, Father Thaddaeus (Todd) Hardenbrook and daughter-in-law Xenia, their children Joseph, Kyriana, Daniel, and Chrysa; her brother Richard Ramsey, nieces, Carol Tisza and Karla Madison, and nephew David Ramsey. Barbara was preceded in death by her parents, Burley and Leota Ramsey, her brother, Kenneth Ramsey, and sister-in-law, Jeanie Ramsey. Funeral services were held on Saturday, October 8th at St. Lawrence Orthodox Church with committal services following at Felton Cemetery. Grant rest eternal and blessed repose, O Lord, to the soul of Your handmaiden the Presbytera Barbara, and make her memory eternal!