Barbara Linn Dove's Obituary
Barbara Linn (Tapp) Dove passed away on Sunday, January 25, 2026, at the age of 80.
She lost her husband of 56 years just a little over 1 year ago and celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary on January 10th without him. They are now reunited!
Mrs. Dove was born as Barbara Linn Tapp on December 10, 1945, in Clovis, New Mexico to parents Minnie Pauline (Barnett) Tapp and J.A. Tapp. Barbara was the baby having only 1 older sister Sharon Kay (Tapp) Rensel who preceded her in death.
Barbara was born and raised in Clovis, New Mexico until her junior year in high school when her family briefly moved to El Paso, Texas for her father’s job. They returned to Clovis in the middle of her senior year allowing her to complete her studies at Clovis High School where she excelled in drama and speech.
Shortly after graduation she married and had 3 beautiful children: David Duane Dove who preceded her in death and twins Dusty Ray Dove and Deborah Kay (Dove) Kessel. The family lived on a beautiful ranch in Ranchvale. New Mexico.
In 1966, Barbara relocated with her three children to Amarillo, Texas, where she began working as a secretary. It is said that she was able to type 90 words per minute on an old school typewriter!
A year after moving to Amarillo she was chased by a cute bull rider that would not give up. After many attempts, she finally agreed to go on a date with him, he took her for steak at the Cattleman’s Café in Amarillo and the rest was history!
She married her loving husband, Marvin Edward Dove, Jr., on January 10, 1969. Marvin adopted her 3 children, and they went on to have 2 daughters of their own.
Their oldest daughter, Denise DeLinn Dove of Broken Arrow, OK gave them 4 wonderful grandsons: Michael Dean Butler, Jr., Matthew Daniel Butler, Joshua Brendan Butler, Jeremiah Bryson Butler and 2 awesome great grandsons: Brighton and Eden!
Their youngest daughter, Danna Danette (Dove) Wise gave them 2 beautiful, adopted grandchildren: Gregory Wayne Smith, Melissa Louise Smith and 1 awesome biological grandson: William Hunter Wise!
After many wonderful years in Texas, in 1980, the family decided to make a move to Oklahoma to manage a ranch. Barbara jumped right into the ranching lifestyle and was her husband’s favorite ranch hand!
Barbara loved gardening and would grow enough vegetables to not only feed her own family, but she would also load up the farm truck with her freshly grown vegetables and park it at the end of her road with a big sign that said FREE! She was known for her giving heart and was always looking for ways to bless others!
Barbara was a hard worker and very career driven, she often worked multiple jobs to help provide for her 5 children.
The highlight of her career included the 20 years she spent at Grand Gateway Economic Development. There were 7 Northeastern counties that included several different programs, and one of those programs was: The Area Agency on Aging which Barbara felt so blessed to oversee! She assisted seniors in those 7 counties with things such as nutrition, senior centers, helping finance dentures, hearing aids, ramps, glasses, etc.
Barbara was the author of the Grand Old Times Newsletter for many years. which went out to thousands of senior subscribers!
Barbara oversaw facilitating grants for the seniors, her position was unique: she advocated for seniors at the capital, one of her titles was liaison for the Silver-Haired Legislature. She worked with seniors and senators to get bills passed! She debated and fought to make life better for senior citizens!
One of her proudest accomplishments was helping write and pass SILVER ALERT, which is like AMBER ALERT for children, but for lost senior citizens. It is still in use today.
Barbara also advocated for the Nations and received many awards from the tribes for her work! She was honored to be draped with a Shawl by Chief Bearskin of the Wyndotte Nation on 2 different occasions.
Barbara was honored often by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma for her work with The Silver-Haired Legislature and for her work with the Native American Nations.
After retirement, Barbara enjoyed, alongside her husband, taking care of their 90-acre ranch. She loved all things outdoors, she always had a beautiful garden, and her yard was always blooming with flowers, she would rather be out in nature more than anywhere else!
What’s your fondest memory of Barbara?
What’s a lesson you learned from Barbara?
Share a story where Barbara's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Barbara you’ll never forget.
How did Barbara make you smile?