Barbara Ann Stubbs

September 3, 1933 - August 31, 2020

Barbara “Ann” Donker Stubbs was born to John B. Donker and Helen A. Vande Giessen Donker on Sept 3, 1933, in South Bend, Indiana. Her early life was filled with moves from her father’s trouble shooting job with Krogers, one year changing school 6 times, but she was very determined to succeed in her academics. She found her nitch once she went to Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. Where she studied elementary education. She met Paul Eugene Stubbs of Westminster, Ohio while at Taylor and they married on June 8, 1957 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Ann worked as a second grade teacher in Indiana while Paul finished his degrees. In 1959 they left for South Korea to be missionaries with the Oriental Missionary Society. While in Korea they taught at Seoul Foreign School for missionary children. She and Paul also worked with the mission in spreading God’s word to the Korean people. They later went back to Korea with the Department of World Missions for Church of the Nazarene. Ann taught classes in what was then the Korean Bible School as well as entertained on countless occasions to rave reviews. Ann became a mother on July 9, 1969, and took to this new role right away. She understood that parenting was not always easy and it meant you had to say no sometime but through love, compassion and discipline she built a strong relationship with her daughter that matured into a great friendship that lasted till her passing. In 1975 after feeling that their part of the work was done in Korea Paul and Ann returned to the United States where Paul accepted a position with Compassion International based at that time in the Chicago area and Ann started teaching pre-school. When Compassion moved out to Colorado Springs Ann was brought in and trained as a manager in one of the departments so she could train the staff once the move was complete. After her assignment with Compassion was complete she became the secretary to the registrar at the Nazarene Bible College in Colorado Springs. She transitioned from that profession into a roll of caretaker for her ailing mother until Helen’s passing in 1991. When her husband retired from Compassion and returned to the Church of the Nazarene to become a pastor to the missionaries Ann was there to keep him on schedule and hand wrote thousands of birthday, anniversary, and sympathy cards to active and retired missionaries. She travelled with Paul to Nazarene colleges and kept bios of the college age missionary children, returning home and writing to their parents as to how their children were doing. When Paul retired from that pastorate and they moved down to Tulsa to be with their daughter, Paul found other avenues of ministry and Ann was there to run their house and keep him In his white shirts and ties he always favored. She also found her own ministry with writing to the sick and lonely of the churches that they attended and she was a prayer warrior and compassionate soul. She leaves behind a daughter, Stephanie of Tulsa Oklahoma, a niece Linda Bushouse and her family of Ostego, Michigan and a nephew Pete Bushouse and his family of Vicksburg, Michigan. She was preceded in death by her husband Paul, her father and mother John and Helen, and her sister Beatrice Bushouse of Vicksburg, Michigan.