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Barbara Cheryl O'Neel

September 21, 1943 - February 12, 2022

Barbara O’Neel, 78, passed away February 12, 2022. Visitation will be held from 10:00-11:00 a.m., Monday, February 21, 2022 at Elkhart Christian Church (252 NW Washington Elkhart, Iowa). A funeral service will follow at 11:00 a.m., also at the church. Burial will be held at Elkhart Cemetery in Elkhart, IA.

Barb Cheryl Hewitt was born September 21, 1943, to Gene and Stella Hewitt in Waterloo, Iowa.

She spent her early formative years in Waterloo then moved with the family to Indiana in 1953 where she lived until graduation from Elkhart High School in Elkhart, Indiana in 1961. Upon graduation she returned to Waterloo to attend the Waterloo School of Beauty Culture becoming licensed to practice cosmetology in 1962.

Barb was a beautician in Waterloo and then Nevada while starting her family, but an injury forced a change of occupation. She then enrolled at DMACC in Ankeny and earned her Associates degree in applied science as a legal secretary in 1979. She did all of this while raising her three sons by herself. She then worked for legal firms in Des Moines and later the student financial office at DMACC in Ankeny.

Barb met her husband, Mitch, through friends in 1988 and the two were married July 4, 1991. They lived in Ankeny and enjoyed time with many friends and family and supported each other since that time.

Barb leaves behind to mourn her loss her husband, Mitch; sister, Pam; three sons, Scott (Tonya), Shannon, and Steve (Johnna); daughters, Jennifer (Trent) and Amber; grandchildren, Noah, Carley, Wesly, Kate, and Kendall; several nieces and nephews; a host of friends; and her constant loving companion, Snoopy.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Elkhart Christian Church in Elkhart, Iowa in her name.