March 19, 1937 — April 20, 2026
Barbara A. Stubbs, 89, of Garner, passed away on Monday, April 20, 2026, at Concord Care Center in Garner.
A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at the United Methodist Church in Garner with Rev. Kristin Peters officiating. Inurnment will be at Concord Township Cemetery in Garner.
A memorial visitation will be held from 4 to 6 p.m., Tuesday at Cataldo Funeral Chapel, 160 E. 4th St., Garner and will continue one hour prior to services at the church.
Barbara Ann Stubbs, the daughter of Howard and Helen (Walker) Cowell, was born on March 19, 1937, in Oelwein, Iowa. She grew up on the family farm near Hazelton and attended country school near her home. She graduated from Aurora High School in 1955, where she played on the basketball team. Growing up she helped her father on the farm milking cows, along with household chores of doing dishes and cooking with her mother. After high school she attended two years at Iowa State Teacher’s College (now UNI) in Cedar Falls and received a pre-professional teaching certificate for lower elementary. On June 8, 1958 she married Donald Stubbs at the United Methodist Church in Aurora. Barb taught in Hazelton, Iowa for one year and in Dayton, Iowa from 1961 to 1962. By 1962 she had three children and decided to stay at home and be a mom. In 1966, the family moved to Garner and a year later her youngest daughter was born. In 1978 she decided to return to teaching at Little Lambs Preschool in Garner. She enjoyed her time of 21 years at preschool and retired in 1999. In her retirement she babysat several families in the area. Some of her many hobbies included a love for reading, playing games with her grandchildren, baking, and spending time with her many friends and neighbors. She was especially known for her famous angel food cakes.
She was an active member of the Garner United Methodist Church for 60 years.
Barb is survived by her husband, Don, of Garner; four children, Kevin (Karla) Stubbs of Oklahoma, Kirk (Tina) Stubbs of Davenport, Iowa, Diana ( Bart) Hansen of Hampton, Iowa and Brenda ( Steve) Howke of Kalispell, Montana; grandchildren, Eric (Jaime) Hansen, Blake (Morgan) Hansen, Sarah (Joel) Morrison, Ben (Emily) Hansen, Haley (David) Rasmussen, Alisha (Steve) Shudy, Ashley (Zach) Hendricks, Emily (Jonah) Howke, Shelby Howke, Brady Howke, and Jacob (Taylor) Hicks; and several great grandchildren; a brother, Tom (Barb) Cowell; a brother-in-law, Jim Snively; a sister-in-law, Judy Cowell; a sister-in-law, Mary Kay (Del) Bowden, and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; granddaughter, Paige Howke; brother, Dale Cowell; sister, Jean Snively; nephew, Mike Snively; and nephew, Bryon Cowell.
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