In Loving Memory of Barbara Stearns Plyler Barbara Stearns Plyler, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, friend, and community builder, passed away on July 9, 2025. She was delightfully silly, exuberant, intelligent and beloved by so many. She will be deeply missed. Born on April 9, 1939, in Brockton, Massachusetts, she was the oldest child of W. Earl Stearns and Deana Monsini Noyes. She loved her family and could trace her lineage back on both sides, cherishing the names of her ancestors and the opportunity to share stories about them. At only 18 years old, a friend introduced her to a dashing young airman named Thomas "Jack" Plyler from South Carolina. They eloped after a short courtship and had four children: Steven, Liz, Sharlene, and Thomas Joseph (deceased). Their Air Force adventures took their family to seven states and overseas to Germany, before settling in her hometown of the heart, Del Rio, Texas in 1975. An American patriot to the core, she held down the home front with strength and fire while raising three children during her husband's deployment to the Vietnam War. She was no wallflower — she had a voice that carried, and was unafraid to speak up or take charge when it mattered. She didn't suffer fools or bullies lightly and may have encouraged her son Steven to throw a punch or two. She loved her jobs and gravitated to new and exciting opportunities. She worked as telephone operator as a teenager and in the 1960s, she broke barriers as one of the first women to drive a bus and even an 18-wheeler. She worked at the Val Verde Memorial Hospital, where she later returned as an elected official of the hospital board from 2007-2014. She and Jack founded a small business, DelTex RV and Auto Repair, where Barbara encountered and welcomed many a "winter Texan." While Jack handled the RV and auto repairs, Barbara created an eclectic gift shop filled with local goodies and created an environment for customers and friends to hang out and chat around the "wisdom table." Barbara was a social butterfly who enjoyed meeting people and serving her community. To say she stayed busy is an understatement. She orbited between the Air Force base, Grace Community Church, her work, the Chamber of Commerce Winter Visitor Committee, and the Amistad Sam's Club RV traveling group. She was a member of several NCO wives clubs and the Beta Sigma Phi sorority. She was strong and did not allow six broken ribs and a broken hip to keep her from hosting the Amistad Sams for a Mother's Day Brunch at Laughlin AFB to see the Thunderbirds. She was also known as the soup lady, feeding the multitudes who came into the Shop with a crockpot full of soup. She celebrated birthdays with "the singing auto mechanics" and threw big birthday parties complete with mariachis and all for Vern Sebastian Longfellow, the Bassett Hound. We say she never met a stranger. She was quick to welcome and had a way of making people feel special. She became a safe haven to anyone seeking refuge and was like a second mom and grandmother to many. If someone didn't have a place to go for Thanksgiving, she made sure they'd be at her table. Her home was a hub of hospitality where she would welcome you with warmth, conversation, and often a plate of something delicious. Hers was no ordinary spaghetti. She lived life out loud — singing Zippity Do Dah at the top of her lungs, dancing the Charleston with flair, and wearing her bikinis. She could play the piano, the organ and the ukelele and loved to fill the room with music, throwing her head back to sing with abandon. Her personal soundtrack included You're a Grand Old Flag, Bicycle Built for Two, and even the Chicken Dance, which she performed with gleeful energy. She loved adventuring and travel, and she and Jack covered many miles in their RV. When living in Germany, she packed the family into a pop-up trailer to get to Steven's baseball games in Spain, France and Switzerland. Every weekend was a castle hunt. She loved hitting the road with Sharlene, often driving to Tennessee to see Liz and get grandkids for summer adventures. She lived spontaneously and once drove right to Kansas from Dallas because, she said, "I was halfway there." She had a special place in her heart for quirky pets — the kind with hair in their eyes, underbites, droopy ears and long bodies and big personalities. Her home was almost often shared with a scrappy, lovable pup, and she treated each one like royalty (Vern even was named El Rey Fido). They brought her laughter, companionship, and a little chaos — all things she welcomed. Epunee, Sadie Sue, Vern Sebastian Longfellow, and Norman were certainly waiting for her across the rainbow bridge. She was the life of every room, known for her unforgettable laughter, her signature catchphrase — "This is over the top!" — and her unwavering encouragement, especially of her grandchildren and great grandchildren, whom she adored. She was an avid tournament bowler and fierce adversary, if not the winner, at games like Bingo, Scrabble, cards, and a mischievous practical joker, which she passed down to all. Whether she was leading a prayer, serving her community, or cheering on her grandkids, she did it with joy, generosity, and all of her heart. She leaves behind a legacy of boldness, service, and love — and grandchildren who knew her not just as Nana, but as their loudest, proudest cheerleader. We will forever carry her voice, her spirit, and her song in our hearts. She is preceded in death by her dear husband, Thomas Jack, her parents, Deana Monsini, W. Earl Stearns (Helen), her infant son, Thomas Joseph, and her brothers, Jimmy Stearns and Benning Noyes. Brothers and sisters-in-law, Mattie Goodman (John), Gene Plyler (Marlene), Don Plyler (Martha), Frank Plyler, Barbara Hamby (Leon) and Alan Plyler. She is survived by her sisters, Kathy Noyes (Reeve Apgar) and Jayne Wotton (Mark). Her children, Steven Plyler (Cathy), Elizabeth Parton, Sharlene Perez (Ernest) and her son of the heart, Jimmy Scott. Her grandchildren, Jacquelyn Davis (John), Matthew Parton (Megan), Jessica Elhinn (Simon), Zack Plyler (Fernanda), Kaleb Parton (Courtney Perkins) and great-grandchildren, Cruz and Brooks Davis, Ronan and Korbin Parton, Vivienne and Henry Elhinn and Sofía and Santiago Plyler. Sisters in law, Linda Plyler, Elfreida Plyler and brothers-in-law, Edward Plyler (Debbie) and Grady Plyler (Byrd) and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends, whom she adored. A visitation will be held at Sunset Memorial Oaks - New Braunfels on Wednesday, July 16th from 4:00-6:00 PM, with a prayer service from 5:00-6:00 PM. A graveside service will be held at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, on Thursday, July 17th at 9:30 AM. The family encourages donations to the following places: In honor of the bond she had with her beloved Normie, to the Friends of the Pflugerville Animal Shelter, www.friendsofpas.org The Alzheimer's Foundation, www.alzfdn.org CASA of Val Verde County, casaofvalverdecounty.org White Stone Kids Ministries, whitestonekids.org