June 10, 2024, 83, Goldsboro —
Mary J. Rogers Barber, 83, of Goldsboro, N.C., died peacefully in her home Monday morning, June 10. She was the daughter of the late Vaughn and Thelma Chadwick Rogers of Brewer, Maine.
She was preceded in death by her sisters, Elaine Pelkey and Thelma Goodness, and brothers, Kenny Rogers and Vaughn Rogers, Jr., and Ashley Biggs Vrabel who asked her to be her grandmother when just a little girl.
She is survived by Jasper (Jay) E. Barber, her husband of more than 64 years, sons, Dean (Sheila) and Larry (Mary Ida), two grandchildren, Chad and Kelly Barber, and one great-grandson, Kayne Edwards. Also surviving are Ashley Vrabel’s son Timothy McCamman and her daughter Delilah Vrabel whom she loved as her own grandchildren.
Before she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1991, she was employed with Action Temporaries in Goldsboro. The MS left her legally blind and affected her motor skills. Her disability led her to quilting, a hobby her mother taught her. She in turn taught others and started a quilting group, The Cut-Ups, which met weekly. Almost all the quilts, blankets, table runners, card holders, purses, and placemats she made were given to family and friends or to charities such as The Wayne Pregnancy Center, and an outreach program at the Mt. Olive First Pentecostal Holiness Church.
She cherished her role as a wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and she was a friend to anyone who needed a friend. Despite mounting health issues, she kept the faith and a positive attitude and continued to extend a helping hand to those she knew who needed it for as long as she was able.
She was a Christian and a faithful member of the Mount Olive First Pentecostal Holiness Church.
A celebration of life service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, June 14, at the First Pentecostal Holiness Church in Mt. Olive with Pastor Jeff Dail presiding.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made in her memory to the Mount Olive First Pentecostal Holiness Church, 130 Ed Edmundson Road, Mt. Olive, NC, 28365; Wayne Pregnancy Care Center, 3501 E. Ash Street, Goldsboro, 27534; or a favorite charity.
