What do you get when you add an educator, an engineer, and an entomologist together? Add a soldier, an insurance agent, an entrepreneur, and if you look hard enough, you might just find a baker and candlestick maker, too. We’re going to need a large mixing bowl for sure!
We will answer that question later in our story, but first let’s take a road trip. Our journey will take many twists and turns along the road from Anchorage, Alaska to Beargrass Christian Church—a mere distance of 3,871 miles to be exact.
But our story is not measured in miles, but in meaning. This is the story of a life full of youthful—and not-so-young—romances, dedication, service, hard work, a few tears, and a great deal of joy. And finally, there’s contentment and the wisdom that comes from a life well lived.
Born in San Antonio, Texas, Barbara Decker was just a young child when her father’s job with the CAA would take the family to Anchorage, Alaska. In 1938, federal responsibilities for non-military aviation fell to a new, independent agency, the Civil Aeronautics Authority.
In 1939, the Army requested that the CAA design Alaska’s air infrastructure to meet military aircraft needs. By the end of 1942, there were 193 operational airfields in Alaska and a small but growing network of radio navigation ranges. Barbara’s dad was a part of that work, inspecting airfields for the military.
“The ghostly winter silence had given way to the great spring murmur of awakening life – and that was my Alaska.”
—The Call of the Wild, Jack London
“We grew up in an entirely different world,” Barbara recalls. “No one had extended family there, so we were on our own. Anchorage in those days during the war was very small, with only one paved road in the entire city. It can be a harsh place to live, wild even, and yet one of the most beautiful places on earth,” Barbara reflects from her comfortable condo here in Louisville.
While living in Alaska, Barbara remembers the sound of the bombs dropped from Japanese warplanes exploding on the Aleutian Islands. It was the only military campaign of World War II fought on North American soil.
While Barbara’s dad was inspecting military installations, her mother worked for the Alaskan Railroad in the accounting department. “It was not unusual for Mom and Dad to work seven days a week in those days with the war going on,” Barbara remembers. While the family was in Anchorage, sadly, Barbara’s younger sister Rosemary died from appendicitis.
“People didn’t realize it then, but the war years had an effect on the children too. We were frightened, yet those fears made us strong and resilient as well—a toughness I would have to rely on in the years that followed,” Barbara recalls with a smile.
Barbara’s family was transferred to Walnut Ridge, Arkansas after the war when Barbara was 15, and she would finish high school there. Quite the change from the cold Alaskan winters, Barbara’s life would turn down a different road once again. She married at the young age of 17. Her husband, Mac Cooper, who was just 18, would start life together in the rural hills of Arkansas on a journey that would take them around the world.
“I started a job, and I worked my husband through college at Arkansas State in Jonesboro. When he graduated and joined the Army, he was assigned to teach ROTC at the University of Arkansas, and while there I went back to school and obtained my degree.”
“We were stair-stepping our way toward degrees, you might say,” Barbara laughs. “When the Army sent him to get his master’s degree, I went to graduate school as well. And when he was sent to Vietnam, I went on and earned my Doctorate in Education at the University of Arkansas.”
“You can have all the love in the world, but nothing really can adequately prepare you for the countless hours you’ll spend away—the stresses of deployments, missions, trainings, having children (if that is your plan), all while balancing bills, new roles, and daily life. Once the honeymoon is over, life becomes increasingly complicated and intensely uneasy. Marrying young adds a whole new challenge to the above-mentioned aspects of being a military spouse, but we made it work.”
Mac was in the Army for 20 years. “From those early days in Alaska, I’d learned to be independent, and we grew up fast. Marrying into the military is no cakewalk, and I’m sure I wondered at times, ‘What did I get into?’”
During their twenty years of marriage, Mac and Barbara had two children. Mike was born in Arkansas and Kathryn was born in El Paso, Texas, where her dad was stationed at the time.
While in Arkansas, Barbara became the Education Director at the Child Studies Center at the University of Arkansas Medical School, a program working with emotionally disturbed children. “I designed their education programming.” She held that position for four years.
While in Little Rock, and now single, Barbara attended Unity Church. Being a natural organizer, Barbara started a group for members who were single. “A nice man, David Decker, called me and asked for the phone number of one of the women in our group. Of course I gave it to him, but in that process, we became acquainted and learned we shared a lot of interests. So as so often happens, one thing led to another, and we were married in 1978.”
After David and Barbara were married, she had the opportunity to accept a position with Louisiana State University at Shreveport, where along with her teaching and administrative duties, she developed programs for reading specialists in the master’s program. David was in the insurance business and a Chartered Life Underwriter developing retirement plans, and he was able to move his business to follow Barbara.
While at LSU Shreveport, Barbara was elected president of the Louisiana State Reading Association. Barbara stayed at LSU Shreveport for fifteen years.
“There was an opening at Southeastern Oklahoma State University as Dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences and Director of Teacher Education. A friend encouraged me to apply, and I soon found myself on my way to Oklahoma,” Barbara recalled.
Barbara was elected as President of the Oklahoma State Council of Deans. “I loved the work, but after six years I decided to return to teaching full-time, so I went back into the classroom working with students and mentoring young teachers. It was a wonderful experience.”
After a long and respected career, Barbara retired, and she and David moved to Louisville in 2008 to be close to her daughter Kathryn VanGilder and help babysit Kathryn’s three children: Megan, Jennifer, and Gabe.
“Kathryn has been responsible for the music at the Beargrass Farmers Market since the market first opened. She has a degree in engineering, but like me, loves to teach and now teaches math at Seneca High School. She has some of my toughness,” Barbara laughs.
After moving to Louisville, Barbara’s journey would take another turn. “David and I were married for 37 years.” Barbara pauses for a moment, gazing out the window before returning to her story. “David developed dementia, and I was his caretaker for ten years. I’m glad he called me for that phone number those many years ago,” Barbara adds with a smile. David died in 2015.
Coincidentally, David’s sister Arlene died the same week he did. Arlene lived in California with her husband Wilbur Frye.
“It was David’s wish that his ashes would be returned to California, so during my time there I became acquainted with Wil. We learned we had many of the same interests. We were traveling down the same road, our stars and planets aligned, and the next thing you knew—we were married,” Barbara shares with a laugh. “Wil was 83 and I was 82—just youngsters, or at least young at heart!”
“We were both married young originally and never had a real wedding ceremony, so we did it up good! All the kids came, Leigh Bond officiated, and it was a wonderful wedding.” Wil, of course, moved to Louisville and he and Barbara shared many years together. Wil died in March of 2024.
As we first mentioned, Barbara’s life took many twists and turns—the road she followed was often long. “I moved 30 times in my life, and yet looking back I wouldn’t change a thing. I have wonderful children and beautiful grandchildren and so many friends,” Barbara noted. “You know, growing up during the war years, marrying young, and working hard prepares you for life.”
And by all accounts, Barbara Decker is not slowing down. She’s a charter member of the Philanthropic Education Organization for Women that raises funds for teacher scholarships. She is an Elder at Beargrass, sings in the choir, serves on the Senior Adult Ministry Team, is a gifted bridge player, and a skilled knitter who can purl and cast on with the best of them. And did I mention—a wonderful mother and grandmother?
“There’s always going to be ups and downs in life, in marriage, and in anything worth doing and worth having,” Barbara adds, reflecting on a lifetime of memories. “You just have to do the work and take one step at a time.”
Barbara Decker has taken a few steps in the 3,871 miles from Anchorage, Alaska to Beargrass Christian Church—and there are many more miles yet to travel. One thing is for sure: she’ll capture your attention and light up your day with her contagious smile, a twinkle in her eye, and the assured look that comes from the wisdom and contentment found along a well-traveled road.
“The purpose of life is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
And that says it all about Barbara Decker.
We Are One Together is a new monthly news feature by and about church members that celebrates the beautiful, diverse stories that make up our Beargrass family.
If you would like to be featured in an upcoming edition of We Are One Together or would like to recommend one of our members to be included please contact Bob Morris at 270-316-1267 or by email at bm*********@***oo.com.