Barbara Louise Paine's Obituary
Barbara Louise Kinder Paine died Thursday, April 21, 2022, at her home in Decatur after a short
illness. She was 95 years old.
Barbara was born in Chicago, IL on Dec. 16, 1926, to Florence Rothman Kinder and Bern Benton
Kinder. During her childhood, the family lived in Oak Park, IL, Kalamazoo, MI, and Bloomington,
IL. After graduation from University High School in Normal, she attended Illinois State Normal
University. There, in a biology class, Barbara met a handsome young Navy veteran from rural
Greenville. She and Edward Emery Paine soon began a partnership that would last more than
75 years. She studied journalism at University of Illinois, but left to start a family. In 1966, she
graduated from Millikin University and in 1974 she received a master’s degree in library science
from the University of Illinois.
Barbara worked at Decatur Public Library, and taught for a year at Stephen Decatur High
School. She also served as librarian for public schools in Argenta, Maroa, and Cerro Gordo. She
was a long-time member of the Decatur Audubon
During the 1960s, she and Ed made many treks to Ed’s summer job in Crater Lake National Park
in Oregon, with 4 children in tow. In later years, the couple traveled by car around the
continent, from the Everglades to the Arctic Circle. They became “Winter Texans”, dancing,
socializing, and birdwatching in the lower Rio Grande Valley for more than 20 years.
Barbara enjoyed sewing, quilting, and other needlework crafts, and made much of her square
dance apparel as well as calico stuffed animals still treasured by family and friends. She also
enjoyed hosting and attending large family gatherings, where her gooseberry jam cake was
legendary. She helped instill the love of books and of nature in her children, grandchildren and
great-grandchildren, and deeply enjoyed watching them grow up.
She is survived by husband Edward; daughter Jeanie Mendoza (Durango) of Urbana, sons Ted
(Georgiana) of Decatur, Bill (Laura) of Columbus, WI, and Jeff (Linn) of Chatham, IL; 10
grandchildren; and 8 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Thomas Kinder, and sisters Marcia Kinder
Geer and Janet Diane Kinder.
Contributions in Barbara’s memory can be made to the Macon County Conservation
Foundation (https://www.maconcountyconservationfoundation.org/) or First Presbyterian
Church of Decatur.
No memorial service is planned at this time. Online condolences may be made at the Graceland Fairlawn Funeral Home web site (https://www.gracelandfairlawn.com/obituaries/).
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