Barbara Horton

Barbara Ellen Lessley Horton, 85, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, July 15, 2004, at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

She was born Nov. 27, 1918, in Cairo, Ill., daughter of Clyde and Lee Lessley. She married Reginald Horton Aug. 9, 1936. He died March 29, 1982.

Barbara lived most of her life in Cairo where she was active in many civic organizations. She and her husband were a popular dance couple and won the state jitterbug contest in their younger years.

She worked as a telephone operator many years. She was known for being kind to and rescuing animals. She was of Baptist belief and attended Red Star Baptist Church after moving to Cape Girardeau in 1983. She resided at Fountainbleau Lodge the last three years of her life.

Barbara was a beloved aunt to and is survived by niece Daryl Lynn Kepner and husband Mike of Cape Girardeau, niece Barbara Lee Lanier of Indianapolis, Ind.; nephew Scott Watson of Cape Girardeau; several great-nieces and nephews; as well as her beloved pets.

She was preceded in death by her parents; three sisters, Charlotte Ferguson, Hazel Johns Freeze, Rose Edith Olsen; and a niece, Janice Lewis.

Visitation will be Sunday from noon to service time at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home.

The funeral will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Cy Smith officiating. Burial will be in Green Lawn Memorial Gardens at Villa Ridge, Ill.

Memorials may be made to Humane Society of Southeast Missouri.