Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, Barbara Jean Thompson Townsend passed away September 4, 2023, at her residence following a brief illness.  Born in Port Royal, South Carolina, Barbara was the youngest of two daughters born to Wiley Desverney Thompson and Ernestine Meredith Burr Thompson.  Her older sister, Rose M. Moye, preceded her in death.  Barbara and Rose were relocated to Orangeburg County following the death of their mother where they were raised by their paternal grandparents, Daniel and Mary Thompson and aunts, Beatrice and Mamie Thompson.

Barbara attended the Felton Training School and was a proud graduate of Wilkinson High School.  She enrolled and excelled at the Colored Normal Industrial Agricultural and Mechanical College of South Carolina, later renamed S.C. State College and now South Carolina State University.  There, she was the first female to enroll in the engineering department and earn a bachelor's degree in architectural engineering.  Barbara's unprecedented and extraordinary accomplishment occurred in 1954 and uniquely coincides with the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement.  Just as the United States Supreme Court deemed segregation in public schools unconstitutional with the seminal Brown v. Board of Education decision, opportunities in the field of architectural engineering proved nonexistent for Barbara, whose ingenuity and intellectual curiosity far exceeded her time. Always one to persevere, Barbara subsequently earned certification as a secondary teacher in mathematics and art and received additional training at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urban.

Barbara returned to South Carolina to complete her first teaching assignment at W.A. Perry Junior High in Columbia.  She later accepted teaching assignments in Maryland and Charleston, South Carolina before returning home to Orangeburg County where she taught art until her retirement in 1987.  Barbara's tenure with the Orangeburg County School system spanned Sharperson Junior High, Brookdale Middle, Thackston Junior High and Orangeburg Wilkinson High.  While at Orangeburg-Wilkinson, Barbara sponsored The Scribe Literary Magazine, worked as an assistant yearbook advisor and helped organize the Miss Expo Pageant.  She lovingly mentored generations of students and is fondly remembered by many for her tenacity and passion for the arts.

In 1968, Barbara wrote a letter to Cyril B. Busbee, State Superintendent of Education, and members of the State legislature requesting funding for a designated art supervisor with the State Department of Education.  Due to her lobbying efforts, the State of South Carolina recognized the importance of art in students' educational success.  Barbara served on the South Carolina Textbook Evaluation Committee with the State Department of Education for four years.  Notably, she was the first female and first black president of the S.C. Art Education Association when it separated from the S.C. Education Association.

Barbara was a Golden Life Member and Past President of the Orangeburg Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.  She most certainly lived a life of fortitude with grace and noble distinction.  While President, Barbara implemented many of the guidelines presented at the 33rd National Convention, including but not limited to, establishing working guidelines for standing committees, creating the Office of Financial Secretary, and implementing the first external financial records annual audit.  During her tenure, Barbara was instrumental in collaborating with the local Jack and Jill Chapter to sponsor the Ebony Fashion Fair in Orangeburg.  Barbara was an active participant in many of the sorority's activities, most notably, the annual Monsieur Ebonaire Pageant where she designed cover programs, décor and flowers for decades.

Barbara was actively engaged and involved in many aspects of the Orangeburg Community.  She was a member of the Orangeburg Sunlight Club, she served on the advisory council for the I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium at South Carolina State University and the Orangeburg Arts Council where she won the sponsored calendar contest consecutively for many years.  Barbara voluntarily served as co-chair of her 1954 class reunions for her beloved alma mater, South Carolina State University.  Her class consistently raised record amounts in funding and would always "rally to her call".  Barbara possessed a sincere love for genuine friendship and was an avid bridge player and lifelong member of both the Emanon and Thirteen Hearts Bridge Clubs.

Barbara was a lifelong member of "Our Grand Mother" Trinity United Methodist Church.  Her deep love and respect for history led her to become Church Historian.  In this capacity, Barbara photographed and detailed the history of over eighty stained glass windows in the church.  Her efforts were memorialized in a keepsake book, The Windows: Trinity United Methodist Church.  In addition to serving as historian, Barbara also served on the Church Council.

Barbara is survived by her husband of 61 years, Zack; her daughter, Ariel of Orangeburg; her grandson, Brannon of Roseau, Minnesota; nephews, Myron Moye of San Francisco, California and Michael Talps (Kris), of Richmond, California; nieces, Teresa Sanders (Jay) of Oakland, California and Angela Moye White of Columbia, SC, her beloved cat, "Boo" and a host of friends.