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Barbara Lee (Burton) Churchill, Adair Co., KY native

Barbara Lee (Burton) Churchill of Palm Desert, CA, passed away on 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.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at Friendship Church in Sun City, Palm Desert, CA.


Survivors include:
  • Her husband of 60 years, Thomas William Churchill
  • Two children, Tamara Lynn Fiore (David of Nashua, NH, and Mark Daniel Churchill (Holly) of Diamond Bar, CA
  • Eight grandchildren, Sarah Smith (Michael) of NH, Linda Edelblut (Timothy) of MA, Jonathan Fiore (Kiernan) of CA, Peter Fiore (Mariah) of MA, Paul Fiore of NY, Julia Roland (Joshua) of CA, Emily Churchill of CA, and Annalia Fiore of MA
  • Ten great-grandchildren
  • Three surviving siblings, Kathryn Burton, John Burton (Naomi) of Columbia, KY, and Georgie Mings (Ralph) of Elk Horn, KY
  • Seventeen nephews and 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 of 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.

This obituary is a courtesy of Stotts-Phelps-McQueary Funeral Home, 210 Greensburg St., Columbia, KY.


This story was posted on 2025-11-15 09:53:13
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Grissom-Martin Funeral Home
Located one block off the Square at 200 Campbellsville Street in Columbia, KY.
To reach David and Cathy Martin, phone (270)-384-2149, or e-mail: grissomfuneralhome@windstream.net.
Large enough to serve comfortably; Small enough to serve personally.

G & G Monuments
Todd, Mandi and Lucas Green
1670 Liberty Road, Columbia, KY. email: toddg12@windstream.net, 270-634-0359
First Quality Marble and Granite

Stotts-Phelps-McQueary Funeral Home
Established 1922 | 210 Greensburg St., Columbia, KY 42728 | Jeff Jessie, Owner
270-384-2145, www.stottsphelpsmcquearyfh.com, email stottspm@duo-county.com


 































 
 
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