Barbara Anne Custer
Barbara Anne Custer was born to Rosco and Kathleen Welcher in Washington County on November 23, 1934. Her father’s family had a long history in Washington County. Rosco’s father’s family, the Welchers, had arrived in Salem in 1805. They were then followed shortly after by his mother’s family, the Barnetts. Barbara and her older brother, John Barnett Welcher, were both products of these two families. Their mother, Kathleen, was from the Indianapolis area and had not moved to Salem until her marriage to Rosco. Starting out, the family lived in a small log cabin on 2nd Street in Salem, and then they eventually moved to a house on Main Street.
As John (J.B.) and Barbara grew up in the Salem community, their father worked hard to support the family through running Welcher’s Men’s Wear on the town square. The family was always actively involved in the community. Rosco served on the Salem City Council for more than a decade and was also an active member of the thriving Masonic Lodge. Kathleen was never one to take the back seat either. When J.B. and Barbara were young, she took the initiative to set up one of the first Cub Scout groups in the area in order to provide a fun activity for many youth in her community.
While in school, Barbara’s talent and intellectual ability were recognized when she was chosen by her school to participate in the statewide Pioneer Days. As a selected individual, she joined students from all over the state to participate in Pioneer Days, which culminated in several days of theatrical performances. As J.B. and Barbara grew older, they became involved in many activities, as well as doing their part to help their father in his business. While in high school, both of them developed their musical talent as a part of the Salem High School band. J.B., who entered high school three years before Barbara, played the clarinet. Barbara played the flute and was later chosen as the drum majorette. To earn extra money during high school, the two also spent several of their summers lifeguarding at the Salem City Pool. Barbara was known by many people in her community for her sweet personality and her outstanding work ethic. While in high school, these qualities were recognized when she was honored with the title of Miss Washington County.
After graduating from Salem High School in 1952, Barbara followed in her brother’s footsteps and made her way to Bloomington to study at Indiana University. As an IU student, Barbara’s academic ability was displayed more than ever. While being active in the Alpha Chi Omega sorority, she also worked hard toward her double major in business and interior design. She greatly enjoyed being an Alpha Chi, which was ranked as one of the top five sororities.
It was also during her years at IU that Barbara met her future husband, John Custer. John was originally a native of Chicago, Illinois who graduated from La Port High School the same year she graduated from Salem. He was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity. The two met on campus and dated on and off throughout college. However, they would have to spend a significant amount of time away from each other. At that time, IU was a land grant college, meaning that all young men were required to spend two years as a part of the U.S. Army ROTC program when they enrolled at the school. John spent two years doing this and then made the decision to serve our nation as a part of the U.S. Army in 1956.
Following her graduation from Indiana University in 1956, Barbara received a job with the Business Furniture Company of Indianapolis as a designer of business offices. After a short period of demonstrating her skills through completing large designing jobs, she made the decision to move to Chicago after being offered a designer position by the new up-and-coming business Carson Pirie Scott. “She earned this position based on the good work she had done at the Business Furniture Company,” states John Custer.
Being an adventuresome and challenge-seeking young woman, Barbara steered away from her career as a designer for a few years. She left Carson Pirie Scott to accept a job as a stewardess for Pacific Western Airlines. After completing her training in Kansas City, she was based in Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. This was a fun and exciting time for the young adventurer, who actually was presented with the opportunity to be a part of the first group to be trained on jet airplanes.
Throughout this time, John was serving our nation in the Army. When Barbara was working for Pacific Western Airlines and stationed in California for periods of time, John was stationed at Fort Ord in California. After ending his time of service with the Army, he then received a job selling pharmaceuticals in San Francisco. Due to their closer proximity, the couple was able to spend much more time in one another’s company. They eventually started their lifelong journey together when they said “I do” on September 5, 1959.
As was custom in the 1950s, a woman stewardess was required to resign from her job if she were to marry. Therefore, 1959 marked the end of Barbara’s time working for Pacific Western Airlines. However, she took on a new role as a newlywed. Shortly after, she began planning for her next adventure when she found out she was pregnant with a son. 13 months after their wedding, in October of 1960, John and Barbara were blessed with the addition of John Thomas to their family.
When their son was young, John made the decision to go to graduate school at the University of Minnesota to receive a master’s degree in hospital administration. Being the hardworking woman that she was, Barbara found a position at the Business Furniture Company in Minneapolis to help them pay for John’s graduate school. After nine months of classes, John entered into twelve months of practical training at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He then graduated and was hired by this hospital. While in Baltimore, Barbara was also hired as a designer by the Baltimore Stationery Company, an office equipment and furniture dealer. While working there, her talent and ability as an interior designer were quite evident, earning her a great deal of recognition. One of her most significant achievements was the completion of the assignment she was given with Sun Life Insurance Company in Baltimore. With this assignment, she took over designing a 25-floor business building, designing all of the offices. Barbara was also recognized for her work when she was chosen to design an officer’s wardroom on a U.S. fighting ship.
However, as both John and Barbara were advancing in their careers in Baltimore, John was offered a position with the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in California. Therefore, in 1967, the family relocated to Orinda, California. They would remain there for three years, during which time Barbara would stay busy fixing up their new home and taking care of their young son John. At the end of three years, John received a promotion that would relocate them hundreds of miles away yet again. From 1970 to 1974, the family lived in Shaker Heights, Ohio. They returned to California when John was promoted a third time because of his hard work and success with Kaiser Permanente. This promotion brought him all the way up to the vice-president level.
The family would remain in California, residing in the city of Moraga, for many years. While continuing to do some interior design on a smaller scale, Barbara quickly dove right into involvement within their community. She was very involved with the Moraga Women’s Club as well as the Moraga Garden Club, along with other things. John and Barbara also committed a great deal of time to supporting their son in his endeavors. By the time he entered high school at Miramonte High School in Orinda, John had become a highly successful swimmer. They spent countless hours taking him to swimming competitions, many of these being for his competitive team called the Walnut Creek Aquabears. Through swimming for this team, he was able to be a part of the prestigious program that had produced many Olympic swimmers, including Matt Biondi and Mark Spitz. At one point, John’s 200-yard freestyle relay team was ranked fourth in the nation.
While in Pennsylvania, John’s career continued to blossom. After moving there, he served as the President of Keystone Health Plan East for five years. He then decided to begin his own medical consulting practice in the area for six years. Finally, John changed direction slightly to become a financial advisor, which he has been doing ever since. Due to all of his success in his career, he earned a spot as a technical advisor of the Health and Human Services of the federal government. He has also served on the Health Care Cost and Payment Committee of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
While Barbara did not ever pursue another upscale designer job while in Pennsylvania, she enjoyed standing by her husband and supporting him. She also used the time to pursue her passion for art by getting into weaving and the creation of stain glass windows. In late 1993, John and Barbara were saddened with the news that Barbara had been diagnosed with cancer. As her illness progressed, John faithfully stood by her side as she had always done for him. He took care of her, encouraged her, and helped her to find the best medical care possible. John was willing to do anything it took to restore health to his wife. They travelled to many locations seeking treatment, including the Penn State College of Medicine, the Johns Hopkins Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and the University of Maryland. While they were not able to defeat the spread of the cancer, John says that he is confident she received very good care during her illness.
As Barbara battled the terrible disease, she always kept in mind those she loved. While she was sick, she took the time to make something, such as a scarf or a hat, for each of her friends and loved ones. She had always been a loving and caring person, and her circumstances never hindered her from showing love to those around her.
One of her last expressions of love to her husband was something that has forever touched John’s heart. In the spring before her death, she planted seeds all over the yard. The next spring, beautiful flowers began to pop up all over the front lawn. While Barbara knew John was not an expert on flowers, she knew he would go to look in the garage with all of her gardening things to find out what type of flowers she had planted. When he went out to the garage that next spring to search for what she had planted, he quickly found a box with a note that read “I love you.” Next to the note lay packages of Forget-Me-Nots. Every spring, as these flowers cover the yard with beauty, John remembers his wife and the wonderful years that they shared. To this day, he can’t tell this beautiful story without it bringing tears to his eyes. “We simply had a super, super life together,” he states.
After fighting cancer for nearly three years, Barbara passed away on September 4, 1996. At her death, she and John had been married for 37 happy years. Since that time, John has continued to reside in Pennsylvania and progress his successful business as an independent financial advisor. He has had the pleasure of watching his son get married and start a family of his own. John Thomas married Susan Forester of California. At their wedding, he also celebrated the life of his beloved mother by using Forget-Me-Nots as the wedding flowers. He now resides in Walnut Creek, California with his wife and two children, Olivia and Nicholas.
John will always look back on his life with Barbara with joy for everything they shared. He is proud of all that his wife accomplished, both as a career woman and as a mother and wife. “She was bright, and she was always well motivated,” he recalls. “She was a ‘doer’ with a lot of ‘stick-to-it-ness.’” However, what he remembers most and how he wants others to remember her is simply “as a loving person.” Barbara was simply a beautiful woman both inside and out. In honor of her life, John decided to start the Barbara Welcher Custer Memorial through the Washington County Community Foundation. This fund, created in 1996, provides support to the Salem High School Band and Washington County Girl Scouts. Thanks to his generosity, this fund will help youth in Washington County be able to pursue what they love for many years to come.
