Frances Delores Barker's Obituary
Frances Delores Barker passed away peacefully at her home in Covington on January 27, 2023, at the age of 81. She was born to Atwood Nathan Barker and Dorothy Christine Barker on May 28, 1941, and lived a storied life in and around Barker’s Corner, the small, but close-knit community that bore her father’s name. She attended Lee Road Consolidated School and graduated from Covington High in 1959. Following her graduation from high school, she entered Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, La. She married Richard Edward Bankston, Jr., in 1959 and they welcomed their only child, Karen, in December of 1960.
To know Frances was to love her. She was one-of-a-kind, larger than life and made an art out of conversation. She never met a stranger, was completely selfless and possessed an unmatched ability to make everyone feel like the most special person in the world. She was the definition of an independent, yet servant woman, and was ahead of her time in many ways. She raised a daughter all while working a farm, operating a convenience and a feed store, and running the treasured B&B Drive-in. Her heart for people and her community was as big as her magnalite roaster. Whether she was cooking for four or forty, she filled her largest pot to the brim knowing that someone was always in need of a good, home cooked meal. Her service, however, reached well beyond her kitchen and local community. She touched many people and families through her nearly two decades of work with the American Red Cross and United Way. She was also actively involved with the St. Tammany Parish Farm Bureau, St. Tammany Parish Fair and the Louisiana Association of Fairs and Festivals, having served as President of each organization.
Of all her life’s blessings, her family was her most cherished. Frances is survived by her daughter and best friend, Karen Bankston Dirmann and son-in-law Michael Dirmann; granddaughter, Bailey Dirmann Morse and her husband, Ryan; and grandson Barker Stephen Dirmann and his wife, Shannon. The lights of her life were her six beloved great-grandbabies, John Ryan, Hudson Reed, Bates Michael, Margaret Frances, Beau Stephen and Mary Scott Elizabeth. She never missed a single ball game or dance performance, but she also never really watched one because she was often too busy pacing, praying, or making chit-chat with the other fans.
She is also survived by her former husbands, Richard Bankston, Jr. and Stanton Davis, two stepsons, Eric and Eron “Brother” Davis, her uncle, the Rev. Owen McManus, Sr. of New Orleans, together with a host of cousins, extended family and dear friends.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Atwood and Christine, and her beloved grandparents, Frank and Tena Barker and the Rev. and Mrs. O. L. McManus, Sr.
Visitation will take place on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at E.J. Fielding Funeral Home, 2260 West 21st Avenue, Covington, LA. Relatives and friends are also invited to attend the Funeral Service at Fitzgerald Methodist Church, 80007 Fitzgerald Church Road, Covington, LA, 70435 on Wednesday, February 8, 2023, at 11:00 am, with visitation beginning at 10:00 AM until service time. Interment will follow at Barker-McManus Memorial Cemetery near Barker’s Corner, 79407 Lee Road, Covington, LA 70435.
In lieu of flowers, and in keeping with her legacy of service, the family requests that donations be made in her name to the Fitzgerald Church Meal Ministry, the New Zion Baptist Church Lunch Ministry or the American Red Cross.
E.J. Fielding Funeral Home, locally owned and operated has been entrusted with funeral arrangements. Friends and family are invited to share thoughts, fondest memories, and condolences online at E. J. Fielding Funeral Home Guest Book at www.ejfieldingfh.com.
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