Barbara Ann Carttar Robison, 93, Winfield, Kansas, died September 28, 2019, at Cumbernauld Village.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, October 12, 2019, at 2:00 p.m., at Grace United Methodist Church in Winfield. Miles Funeral Service is in charge of arrangements.
Barbara was born on June 8, 1926 in Wichita, Kansas, the second child of Donald and Edna (Tennery) Carttar. She grew up in Wichita and Clearwater, Kansas, graduating from Clearwater High School in 1944. After her graduation, the family moved to Winfield, and Barbara attended Southwestern College for two years. She then transferred to Kansas State College (later KSU) where she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Home Economics in 1948.
It was after graduating college that her spirit of adventure took over. Given a choice between a teaching job in Western Kansas, and one in South America, she opted for the latter. She left for La Paz, Bolivia in July 1948. For a year and a half, she taught at The American Institute, a K-12 school founded by the Methodist Church and directed at that time by Howard Yoder of Winfield. Howard and Helen Yoder had maintained a friendship with Don and Edna Carttar since they were all students at Southwestern College. In Bolivia she met a young Methodist missionary pastor named William Thomas "Jack" Robison. They were married on December 14, 1949, and had five children, all born in Bolivia. Their children were Nathan Carttar, Charles Price, Ann Tennery, Helen Elizabeth, and Daniel McKinley.
Barbara and Jack's missionary career in Bolivia spanned 33 years. This required them both to learn Spanish upon arrival, but they also studied Aymara, a difficult indigenous language. They served Aymara-speaking people in several different congregations, near Lake Titicaca, in the city of La Paz, and in the tropical forest foothills. Barbara oversaw children's Sunday School and provided music wherever she went, playing rustic pump organs and mastering church hymns on the accordion. Her passion was women's education and empowerment; she was very active in the Women's Society of the Methodist Church in Bolivia and attended several international women's conventions. She taught health and nutrition classes in the different communities where she served. During their final years in Bolivia, the focus of Barbara and Jack's ministry turned to adult education.
In 1981 Barbara moved to Winfield with her husband Jack, and in 1983 they retired from their work with the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. At that time, Barbara joined Grace United Methodist Church, and had been an active member ever since. Her passion for women's work continued as she played an active role in the GUMC unit of the United Methodist Women. She took her turns in leadership roles, looking especially for ways to include younger women. She made sure the unit participated in the UMW reading program, overseeing the purchase of books, and the distribution and collection of reading logs. Barbara loved to bake for the Magnificent Christmas Cookie Adventure at Grace from its inception in 1991, and gained a degree of local fame by baking myriad peppernuts each year for that UMW fundraiser. At Grace she was also active in the Ministry of Music, singing in the chancel choir, and ringing in the bell choir into her 80's.
In terms of hobbies, Barbara loved to travel. Whether she was driving around Kansas, taking the mountain roads of Bolivia, a train to the USSR, or the boat to the Galapagos Islands, she always wanted to see what was around the next curve. At the age of 83, Barbara travelled to the Galapagos Islands with Alex Trebek and others of the Jeopardy crew. Everything came to a halt at her house every day at 4:00 so she could watch Jeopardy. She won the cruise by entering her name online for several consecutive days and answering questions about each day's show. Barbara was a talented seamstress, and made many clothes for herself, her daughters, granddaughters, and their dolls. After her mother's death, she took an interest in quilting by hand, one of Edna's main hobbies, and worked with the GUMC quilters once a week for about fifteen years. She was also a wonderful and adventuresome cook. In addition to her church affiliations, she belonged to the Hypatia Study Club, the Winfield Friends of the Environment, and since her college days at Kansas State, the Alpha Delta Pi Sorority.
Barbara was preceded in death by both her parents, her brother Donald Minter, her husband Jack, and her daughter-in-law, Sheila McKean.
Surviving her to celebrate her memory are her sister, Mary Carttar Hartley (Bob), her children, Nathan Robison (Lourdes Rivadeneyra), Price Robison, Ann Robison, Helena Peacock (Hal), and Dan Robison; her grandchildren, Mark and Ligia Helena Robison, Raquel "Rachel" Farah (Ryan Costello), and Mary Brisa (Omar Salavarria) and Daniel Peacock; and her great granddaughter Lucia Farah Costello.
Memorials have been established for Grace United Methodist Church in Winfield, and for Curamericas Global, honoring her service to the people of Bolivia. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made through the funeral home, or sent directly as follows: Grace UMC, 320 College, Winfield, KS 67156. Curamericas Global, 318 W. Millbrook Rd., Suite 105, Raleigh, NC 27609 or online at https://www.curamericas.org/ (please designate contribution in memory of Barbara Robison).