Florence Barnsdale
July 29, 1923 - May 17, 2017
Longtime Berkeley resident Florence Barnsdale died on May 17, at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, at the age of 93.
Florence Eleanor McKeown was born on July 29, 1923, in Fort Collins, Colorado, after her mother went into labor during a Sunday visit to the in-laws’ small farm on Taft Hill. Florence was raised mostly in Sacramento and San Jose, California, and studied journalism and then economics at UC Berkeley. Shortly before she would have graduated, Florence took the train to Boston to marry Cal alumnus and newly commissioned submarine officer William Jordan Barnsdale.
After World War II, Bill entered the U.S. Foreign Service and was stationed in Stockholm; Bari; Belgrade; Bombay; Naples twice; Washington, D.C.; Rome twice; and Blantyre, Malawi. Bill Jr. was born in Stockholm, John in Naples, and Mary and Andrew in the United States. After he joined the United Nations’ World Food Programme, Bill, Florence, and Andrew lived in Islamabad, Pakistan. Florence and Bill lived in Rome again before they retired in Berkeley.
During their years in Italy, Florence and Bill fell in love with all things Italian. They were both wonderful cooks. Florence’s specialties included lentil soup with cotechino sausage for New Year’s, porcini stuffing at Thanksgiving, and Neapolitan pastiere.
Florence was also a keeper of the family stories, many of which echoed the history of the West. One great-grandfather, Nymphus Bassett, was a carpenter who worked on the first covered bridges in the Pacific Northwest. Another, William Henry Davis, fought for the Union in the Civil War and migrated afterward from Pennsylvania to a farm in Elmira, California. Her great-granduncle was a journalist in San Francisco after the Gold Rush. A grandfather operated lumber mills in Oregon, his widow became a camp follower of evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, and the fifth of their nine children – Florence’s mother, Lucille Bassett McKeown – eventually became California Governor Pat Brown’s secretary. Florence’s father, Robert Bruce McKeown, was a geologist with the California Conservation Corps. During the Great Depression, Bruce had had to sell ladies stockings door-to-door.
Both Florence and Bill were lifelong Democrats who were keenly aware that affordable higher education and World War II had helped give Bill the mobility to become a career diplomat.
Florence maintained a humbling grasp of current and past events. During her last hour, her daughter Mary shared that Robert Mueller had just been appointed to investigate connections between the Trump campaign and Russia.
“Oh, good,” Florence said, from behind her oxygen mask. “He has an excellent reputation.”
Florence had a gift for friendship and loved the arts. During her last two weeks, she attended a concert by her favorite pianist, Richard Goode, at Sonoma State; a Mother’s Day celebration at a Thai restaurant in Orinda Village; and a luncheon at her sister-in-law’s home. She already had seats for the San Francisco Opera in the Fall.
Florence’s husband and her siblings, Dorothy Helmick and John McKeown, preceded her in death. She is survived by her four children; daughters-in-law Joy and Susan; sister-in-law Katherine McKeown; grandchildren Alexandra, Charlene (Leeto Tlou), Kristina, and Phyllis Barnsdale, Heather (Tim) Marklein, Joseph (Susan) and Robert (Beth) Myers, and Stacy (Chris) Silvey; nieces Carolyn (Lee) Finch, Marla McKeown, and Jeanne Simpson; nephews Mark (Debbie) and Robert (Karin Madson) Helmick, and Ken (Jan) Ongaro; great-grandchildren Ashley (Justin) Gardner, Keuntae KentMartinez, Sofia Lawson, Max and Karenna Marklein, Chase, Shane, Tanner, and William Myers, Sarah (Noah) Ondracek, and Alexandra, Daniel, Emily, Hannah and Michael Silvey; great-greatgrandchildren Judah, Sawyer, and Summer Gardner; extended family Eileen Cohen, Ariana (Dylan Nolfi) and Béalleka (Jeff Jaeckle) Makau, and Veda (Mike Avina) Rosier, and their families; and many more relatives and friends.
The family thanks Florence’s friends and neighbors, her book group, the UC Berkeley Italian Section, the parishioners of All Souls Episcopal Church, Ofakimuli Siliako and Helping Hands, and Christina Robinson and Helane York for their kindness and support.
A celebration of Florence’s life will be held on Saturday, August 26, at 11:00 a.m. at All Souls Episcopal Church, 2220 Cedar Street, Berkeley. The family suggests that any donations in her memory could be made to All Souls, the San Francisco Opera or Ballet, or KQED.