Barbara Anne Redline

Ashtabula — Barbara Redline, a long-time resident of Ashtabula, died Wednesday the 12th of June at Madison Health Care, where she had been a resident for the past six years.

Born in 1941 in Newcastle, PA, Barb was the oldest of five children.  She was the first person in her family to go to college, and was determined to work her way through school and earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from West Virginia Wesleyan.  She served as a role model to her younger siblings in this regard, by showing them what was possible.  She continued her education as an adult at Edinboro University, where she earned a Master’s degree in Science and a Master’s degree in Education.  She began her teaching career in Marietta, and taught locally at Braden Junior High in the 1960s and Assumption in the 2000s, raising her girls in between.

Barb was always involved in her children’s lives, and created unique activities for the long-standing Girl Scout troop she led for over 10 years.  A favorite memory was when all of the troop money earned and saved was spent on a final trip to Virginia Beach before some of the girls graduated high school.  The fact that the troop stayed intact for so many years is a testament to her fun demeanor, along with the other co-leaders.  She was a “mom” to all of those girls, as well as to so many of her daughters’ friends.

Barb was an avid bird watcher, and loved going to Presque Isle State Park.  While she enjoyed identifying unique birds, her favorite remained the red cardinal.  Genealogy research was another passion of hers, and she was able to trace her and her husband’s heritage back more than 200 years.  Her sisters often accompanied her at old cemeteries looking for a relative’s gravesite.  She would get so excited when one could be located and would mark its GPS coordinates, which the rest of us found funny.

She is survived by her husband, Richard Redline, her daughters Gretchen Redline of Glen Mills, PA and Kristina Heidel (spouse John Heidel, children Anna 16 & Grant 15) of Sandy Hook, VA as well as her sisters Bonnie Friedman and Agnes Flick and her brother Larry Watson. She was preceded in death by her parents and by a sister Janet Watson.  Barb loved spending time with all of her family, and was able to bake cookies regularly with her grandchildren when they were young.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the MayoClinic-Alzheimer's Research https://philanthropy.mayoclinic.org/donateMC and select "designate my donation to" Alzheimer's Disease Research.  The family wishes to thank the staff at Madison Health Care and Crossroads Hospice for caring for her.

Funeral services will be Thursday (June 27th) at 11:00 AM at the Ashtabula Home of Fleming & Billman Funeral Directors and Crematory, 526 W. Prospect Rd. Ashtabula, Ohio. The calling hours will be held Wednesday (June 26th) from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at the funeral home.

The Fleming & Billman Funeral Homes in Ashtabula, Geneva and Jefferson are honored to serve the Barbara Redline family. Guest book and obituary at www.fleming-billman.com

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