Barbara (Baker) Cash

Barbara Baker Cash, 99, of Signal Mountain passed away Friday, September 4, 2020, at the age of 99.

Barbara was born on April 28, 1921 in Pittsburg, PA to Sydney S. Baker & Louise B. Baker. She grew up on a Long Island farm and later in the town of Baldwin, where she recalled doing cartwheels to school as a young girl and developed a love for Jones Beach. Her introduction to East TN was also as a child, where she attended Girl Scout Camp and learned to enjoy campfires and great outdoor adventures.

Her first husband, Robert James, an aviator whom she married in 1942, perished in World War II. Later she joined the WAVES and met Navy Lt. John R. Cash at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. They were married in 1945, after which she became a homemaker and mother to their seven children, in Franklinville and Hamburg, NY. Upon retirement, John and Barbara retired to Brooksville, FL for 24 years. Following John’s death in 2000, she moved permanently to Alexian Village retirement community near Chattanooga, TN.

She was predeceased by siblings Winifred K. Gould, Charles P. Baker and Catherine B. Ketcham. She is survived by her seven children: John Cash Jr. (Durant, OK), Daniel Cash (Newville, PA), Kathleen McConnell (Newville, PA), Monica Cash (Claremont, NH), Louise Cash (Mimbres, NM), Marian Sheehan (Candia, NH)and Rosemary McAlister (Great Barrington, MA), as well as 19 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.

Barbara led a very full life and embodied the spirit of one of her favorite sayings, “Carpe diem.” She was an individual known not only for her quick wit and sense of humor, but also as an avid reader and a lifelong learner, particularly with regard to languages and cultures. She and John hosted exchange students while her children were growing up, and she encouraged her own children’s higher education and individual pursuits. As a result of her Girl Scout beginnings, she enjoyed campfires and traveled extensively throughout North America in an Airstream trailer with her husband John. They also visited many parts of the world together. She enjoyed tennis, worked in real estate, volunteered for the League of Women Voters, and was very active in the  Roman Catholic Church laity and was a Red Cross Volunteer for Our Lady of Victory Hospital in Lackawanna, NY, in which she took great pride.

Mrs. Cash will be laid to rest alongside her husband at the National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, Contributions may be made to Alexian Village of Tennessee, 437 Alexian Way, Signal Mountain, TN, 37377, designated for the "Mary Jane Spittler Healthcare Scholarship Fund."

You may visit www.heritagechattanooga.com to share condolences to the family.

Arrangements are by Heritage Funeral Home, 7454 E. Brainerd Road.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.