Barbara Jo "Barbie" Nelson

Barbara Jo “Barbie” Nelson, age 44, of Lanark, Illinois passed away suddenly at home due to natural causes. A loving and funny, Daughter, Sister, Aunt and Friend, “She was the kind of person that would drop everything to make sure someone else was ok.” Barbie was an amazing hugger, had an infectious smile, enjoyed a good laugh and especially having fun with friends.

A private Funeral Mass will be held at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Freeport. A Celebration of Life will also be held in the summer for any who wish to attend. Memorials may be made to the family.

Barbie was born May 19, 1976 in Clinton, Iowa, the daughter of Robert “Bob” and Garla (Smith) Nelson. She is a graduate of the Polo High School with the Class of 1995, then attended Educators of Beauty in Sterling. From a young age, Barbie enjoyed sports. She was a life-long Iowa Hawkeyes, and Dallas Cowboys fan.

Barbie loved to cook and bake. She worked as a Chef and Baker at the Campbell Center for Historic Preservation in Mt. Carroll for several years. If there was a special request, Barbie would be shopping at night to have the right ingredients the next morning.

Her family was most important, and they were close. She joins in Heaven with her mother, Garla who passed in 2013, brother Rob who passed in 2019, and her grandparents.

Barbie will be dearly missed by her father, Bob Nelson of Lanark; two sisters, Michelle “Shelly” Nelson and Keri (Antonio) Asevedo, both of DeKalb, Illinois; her nephew, Aiden Asevedo; her aunt, Carolyn Lee of Goose Lake, Iowa; and several close and special friends.