Barbara Lieb Lochhead, 79, died peacefully on Dec 10 , 2021 at her home in Oakley Calif. She was born on March 26 ,1942 in Berkeley, CA, the daughter of William Howard and Thelma Owens Lieb.
Barbara met Neil Lochhead 1959 in Oakland, CA and they married the following year. She spent most of her younger years raising their two sons and caring for their homes. She and her family lived in El Cerrito CA, Santa Rosa CA, Richmond CA, and Pleasant Hill CA during this period.
Beginning in 1977, she started working, at Sears in Hayward, CA where she quickly moved up through the ranks and became a department manager before leaving when Sears closed that store in 1993. She then worked at Fabric Land/JoAnn Fabrics in Livermore, CA for a couple of years . About the same time, she moved to Brentwood, CA to be closer to family....both of her sons and their families lived nearby. She started up her own sewing business in the area and was widely known for her wedding and graduation dresses.
Her grandchildren, born over a number of years in the late 1990s, brought a new component to her life. She loved her life as a grandmother and spend much of her subsequent years caring for them.... while continuing a few of her professional activities including teaching sewing at a local community college. Around this time she became a member of the Presbyterian Church in Discovery Bay CA, and in 2003 began helping at the church's school. Barbara then began taking college courses so that she could be certified in 2005 to teach preschool at the Church.
Always wanting to 'do', Barbara never really looking forward to retirement. But having to deal with a number of medical problems, she finally stopped teaching preschool in 2015. She did continue to help with some church activities including serving as a deacon. With new free time she began focusing on gardening and soon was producing delicious veggies and beautiful flowers.
Barbara was preceded in death by her loving Aunts Loie and Vance Carew, Oakland CA and a few beloved East Coast Owen cousins, and one of her best friends from her early years, Kris Wolf, Graeagle, CA
Surviving Barbara are: her brother, James Lieb and his wife Megs Wood of Palmer, AK; her sons, Ronald Lochhead and his wife Raquel of Pittsburg, CA, and Raymond Lochhead and his wife Leslie of Brentwood, CA; and her grandsons, Russell Lochhead and Rylan Lochhead of Pittsburg, CA, her granddaughters, Brooke Lochhead of Lodi, CA and Ally Lochhead Hengst and her husband Foster Hengst of Woodlake, CA.
A memorial service will be held at the Delta Community Presbyterian Church, 1900 Willow Lake Rd, Discovery Bay, CA, 11AM on January 22, 2022.
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