On March 13, 1927, Barbara Katherine Schroeder was born to Charles F
and Margaret M (Arendt) Schroeder at home, on their farm in rural
Rawlins County, Kansas, near Atwood. Barbara was the fourth of their
eleven children. She passed away May 15, 2021, at Prairie Senior Living
Complex in Colby at the age of 94.
From 1933 to 1941, Barbara attended Shawnee Country School in rural
Rawlins County. She stayed home for a year after 8th grade to help her
mother. She attended Leoville High School in Leoville, Kansas for her
Freshman year, 1942 to 1943, where she boarded with a local family and
helped around their house and with their children. From 1943 to 1945, she attended Atwood High School. In the fall of 1945, she attended
Concordia Catholic School in Concordia, Kansas where she graduated in
1946.
Barbara married Lyle A Olberding on September 15, 1947, and moved to
Colby, Kansas. He worked for the Kansas-Nebraska Natural Gas Company
which transferred him to Arapahoe, Nebraska in 1953. They lived in
Arapahoe and raised their five children there until his death in 1966.
Barbara was a homemaker, an excellent cook, enjoyed bowling, playing for
the women’s softball team, getting together with friends. In Arapahoe
she was an active member of St Germanus Catholic Church Altar Society.
After her children started school, she worked nights as a nurse’s aide
at the Arapahoe Rest Home.
After Lyle passed away, Barbara’s brother, Fulgence, offered his
home to her and her children. In the summer of 1967, they moved to the
farm where she was born. Wherever she lived, she planted a vegetable
garden, a patch of strawberries, and would spend days canning. She
drove a school bus for Atwood Public Schools and was the catcher for the
Atwood Roadrunners softball team.
In 1973 Barbara, Lylea and Danial moved to the town of Atwood. She
worked for the Atwood Medical Clinic and the Atwood Hospital.
Barbara married Patrick J (Joe) Mindrup on August 4, 1979, and moved
to his farm near New Almelo, Kansas. She worked as the parish secretary
for St Joseph’s Catholic Church and was an active member of St Joseph’s
Altar Society. She loved playing cards, especially canasta and
pinochle. She really loved square dancing. and Barbara and Joe were
often asked to lead the wedding march at local wedding receptions.
Joe moved to Prairie Senior Living Complex in Colby in 2006.
Barbara remained on the farm near New Almelo until 2010 when she joined
Joe in Colby. At PSLC she enjoyed bingo games, going on field trips,
attended mass, and participated in the rosary. Most of all, she loved
spending time with her grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Barbara was preceded in death by her husbands, Lyle Olberding and
Joe Mindrup; son Paul Olberding; stepson John Mindrup, and grandson
Zachary Meyer.
She is survived by her children, Carl Olberding and his wife
Roxanne, (Grantsburg, WI), Rose Marie Fortina and her husband Chuck
(Elkhorn, NE), Lylea Meyer and her husband John (Siren, WI), Danial
Olberding (Largo, FL), and daughter-in-law Ginny Olberding (Litchfield,
MN); stepchildren, Elizabeth Jansonius (née Mindrup and her husband
Phil (Prairie View, KS), Margaret Houtz (née Mindrup) and her husband
Brett (Ozawkie, KS), and Joseph Mindrup and his wife Meg (Hays, KS);
sixteen grandchildren and seventeen great-grandchildren.
The family would like to thank all the relatives and friends who
visited Barbara over the years and included her in their holiday and
family celebrations while she was living at the Prairie Senior Living
Complex. They would also like to thank everyone at Prairie Senior Living
Complex for their wonderful care of Barbara and for always treating her
with kindness, compassion and respect.