Barbara Jeanne Wendel was born on January 18, 1946 in Lowell, Massachusetts. She took her last breath at Hospice of Cincinnati on the morning of March 10, 2025. She died wearing a leopard-print cashmere sweater and pearl earrings. Which, if you knew Barb, was absolutely perfect. There was not a cloud in the sky as she left the hospice building with “Can’t Hurry Love,” by the Supremes playing in the background.

She attended McAuley High School (Class of 1964) and a brief attempt at nursing school came to an abrupt end following a short time watching an autopsy. Despite never having formal education in the field, Barb was a brilliantly gifted interior decorator. She could make a magazine-worthy home out of thrift store finds and curb throwaways! She was an absolute wizard at choosing the exact right color for anything. Has your mind ever been blown by the fact that there are 300 different shades of white?? Well, Barb had absolutely zero problem knowing precisely which ONE of those would be perfect. And she could do it in a few seconds flat.

The most recent years of her career were spent at Sherwin-Williams, most specifically the location on Cincinnati-Dayton Road. Most people spend their 70s enjoying retirement. Barb had no ability to sit idly. She worked doing freelance decorating and color consultations until about a year before she died. Few things brought her as much joy as being able to help someone fall back in love with their home with a new coat of paint or a simple rearrangement of furniture.

Throughout her life, Barb had an undeniable zest for life and an Energizer bunny-like energy. She could run circles around people half her age. She was notorious for starting decorating projects at midnight! She would try literally anything. Some of her more adventurous pursuits include a flying trapeze lesson with her daughters and completing her first half-marathon (with very little training!) at age 73. She finished her second Queen Bee Half Marathon a year later, with a fever nonetheless, and was so determined to ring the “PR Bell” that she took 13 minutes off of her original time from the year prior!

Barb loved traveling. She was one of those people who wanted to get the most out of EVERY minute. She was the person who would be running to get back on the cruise ship as it was about to pull away…. Absolutely clueless at how close she had probably come to having to find her own private transportation to the next port! She loved Europe just as much as she loved traveling in the US. She had a particular fondness for “charming restaurants,” dining outside and shopping.

When she was not traveling, her favorite local spots included the Ohio Valley Antique Mall (she especially adored the little cafe there and the people who run it!), the Alreddy Cafe in Sharonville, every location of HomeGoods and TJMaxx, any outdoor concert during the summer, Bill’s Donuts in Dayton and anywhere that she could dance with John, her beloved partner of many years.

Barb was a shameless rule non-abider. She believed in asking for forgiveness rather than permission. She never stepped on toes to get where she wanted to go. She was a staunch Democrat and had a heart for the underserved. She started a coat drive at Sherwin-Williams that now bears her name. She still believed in dressing up for air travel and sending handwritten thank-you notes.

Barb fought a valiant battle with ALS for seven years. She was always determined that her disease would never kill her spirit. And it never did. Even as she lost her physical abilities, she still found joy in the small things and faced each day with her signature grace and optimism.

She was preceded in death by her son Christopher Metzguer and her beloved grandmother, “Mama M.” She is survived by her daughters, Lauren Roth, Lindsey Garner and Heidi Turner as well as her beloved partner of many years, John Wendel. John was also the most devoted caregiver for the past few years when her body was ravaged by ALS.

Barb is undoubtedly offering (probably unsolicited) decorating advice in heaven and scoffing at people who drink their soda out of a can rather than from a glass. But she is also definitely dancing and running freely now that she again has the use of her arms and legs. The world is slightly darker without her here, but heaven is definitely a bit more fun now that she has arrived!