Barbara Fleming Marsh, Class of 1947, passed away today – Friday, December 23 – in Thousand Oaks, California.

I got the word from Jim McDaniel, Class of 1960, Barbara’s cousin on the Fleming side of the family through Jim’s mother, Adrian Currey Fleming.

Jim’s email:

“John: 

“Did you see that Barbara Fleming Marsh passed on this morning?  We were cousins on my Mother's side of the family (Flemings).

“She knew a lot about the Flemings around Monongah.  We e-mailed once in a while.  May she rest in peace. 

“Jim”

Jim lives in Behoboth Beach, Delaware.

Barbara grew up on Fleming Hill, which had several family homes above Booth’s Creek and the railroad trestle above the creek just off the West Fork River, as the daughter of Fred Douglas Fleming.

She once recalled crossing the tracks between railroad cars, keeping in mind her parents’ admonition to jump out of harm’s way if she heard the train whistle tooting a warning.

Barbara and husband Tom had two sons, Kevin and Doug. Becky, their daughter, passed away at the age of 5.

Barbara explained the branches of the Fleming family tree to me a year or so ago. So I’ll let her do it again:

Earl Darius Fleming, father of Gary Dennis Fleming, was my first cousin. 

His father, Edward Chamberlain Fleming, was the oldest child of George and Fannie LeVelle Fleming. 

My father, Fred Douglas Fleming, was the youngest child. 

George Fleming's father was Darius Fleming.  Hence Earl's middle name. 

When WWII broke out, 8 of my first cousins all 'went to war'.  Earl was one of them.  By the way, they all came home.  By that time I was a senior in high school and sadly, lost some of the contact with my first cousins.  I never really knew their wives and children. 

When they left I was a young child, when they came back they were men and maybe even married by then.  With Gary Fleming being born in late 1942, that was during the war. 

I moved from Fleming Hill in 1951 to Ohio, then 5 years later on to California.  Fleming Hill and West Virginia will always be home. 

Thanks again for all you do,

Barbara Fleming Marsh

The father of Bill Fleming III, Class of 1960, who quarterbacked the unbeaten 1958 and 1959 Monongah High football teams, and Barbara’s grandfather were brothers.

The late Gary Fleming was the son of Earl Darius Fleming and Carol Morris Fleming. Earl’s father, Edward Chamberlain Fleming, and Barbara’s father, Fred Douglas Fleming, were the sons of George and Fannie LeVelle Fleming.

Gary was in the Fairmont Times-West Virginian printing department for 40 years after serving in the Marines.

William “Butch” Keener’s father and Barbara’s husband were cousins. Butch lives in Winchester, Virginia but grew up in Mannington.

RIP, Barbara. You epitomized the classiness of being a lady.