Barbara Lee (Burton) Churchill of Palm Desert, CA passed away on Thursday, November 6, 2025 in hospice care at her home. She was born in Adair County, KY to the late John Felix and Delie (McQueary) Burton.
SURVIVORS:
Her husband of 60 years: Thomas William Churhill
2 children: Tamara Lynn Fiore (David) of Nashua, NH, and Mark Daniel Churchill (Holly) of Diamond Bar, CA
8 grandchildren: Sarah Smith (Michael) of NH, Linda Edelblut (Timothy) of MA, Jonathan Fiore (Kieman) of CA, Peter Fiore (Mariah) of MA, Paul Fiore of NY, Julie Roland (Joshua) of CA, Emily Churchill of CA, and Annalia Fiore of MA
10 great-grandchildren
3 siblings: Kathryn Burton, John Burton (Naomi) of Columbia, KY and Georgie Mings (Ralph) of Elk Horn, KY
17 nephews & nieces.
She was preceded in death by four siblings: Thelbert Burton of KY, Prenith Burton of KY, Betty Jo Sneed of KY, and Margie McKenzie of KY.
After graduating from high school, Barbara worked in Ft. Wayne, IN where she met her husband Tom following his discharge from the military. The family moved to Diamond Bar, CA in 1973. In addition to loving her role as a full-time wife, mother, and grandmother, she enjoyed serving children in Sunday school, her children’s school, and the community, later, she worked at and retired from Bentley Mills, She and Tom eventually relocated to Sun City Del Webb in Palm Desert, Ca, for their retirement years.
Throughout her life, she had a passion for teaching children about Jesus through various ministries, especially in her role as Sunday School Superintendent at Christian Chapel of Walnut, a position she held for over 10 years. At the age 10, she accepted Jesus as her Savior during a revival at Bearwallow Church, a decision she considered the most important of her life, as it determined her eternal destiny with God.
A Celebration of life service will be held at Friendship church in Sun City, Palm Desert, CA.
This Obituary is a courtesy to the family by Stotts-Phelps-McQueary Funeral Home.
