Barbara K. Pardee

Barbara Klaer Pardee passed away peacefully March 11th at her residence at Kendal at Ithaca. She was 84 years old and born December 22nd, 1933 in Ann Arbor, Michigan to Betty and Lee Klaer. She is survived by two younger brothers, David Klaer (Gwynedd, PA), Charles Klaer (Altamont, NY) and her three children Sherry Pardee (Iowa City, IA), Scott Pardee (Ithaca, NY), Ken Pardee (Columbus, OH) and her step daughter Jo-Ann McCoy (Bracey, VA). She is preceded in death by her husband William (Bill) Pardee.

Her early childhood was spent in Morgantown, West Virginia where her father was a Presbyterian minister who worked with coal miners families during the depression. During these early years she developed a love for the woods and nature that stuck with her through out her life. She also gained her parent's love for helping people. Being the oldest child of Betty and Lee Klaer she was fortunate to get to travel on many of his overseas works projects with Cornell students and shared in their adventures.

She got a degree in Education at Cornell University and following college she taught second grade for two years in London. In 1960 she married Bill Pardee, an Agronomy professor. His first teaching job was at University of Illinois, Urbana where their three children were born, Sherry, Scott and Ken. In 1965 they moved to Ithaca, NY.

Barbara was a stay at home mom and enjoyed volunteered and helping people. She also spent many years managing real estate properties. Many of her tenants have said that she was the best landlord they ever had and were very appreciative of her help and understanding nature. Barbara and Bill were both very active in the Unitarian Church. Barbara also loved working with International wives from Cornell and hosted meetings in her house. She loved to sing and would often sing and dance around the kitchen to Harry Belafonte songs, "The Woman is Smarter" was a favorite. She was active in the Ithaca Community Chorus. Her children have also inherited her love for music and singing. One of her other passions was gardening and she had a special love for pruning. But probably, her all time favorite pastime was hiking. Her husband Bill once said, "Barb never saw a trail she didn't want to walk down."

In 2003 Barb and Bill moved to the Ithaca retirement community, Kendal from their longtime residence on Warwick Place. They both greatly enjoyed the community and camaraderie there. It was no surprise when Barb volunteered to take on pruning bushes with the Kendal landscaping crew. In her final years Barbara had suffered with dementia. Throughout this time she maintained her loving spirit greeting others with a hug and her big smile.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 5 at 2:00 pm at Kendal of Ithaca, 2230 N. Triphammer Rd. Memorial Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the Ithaca Unitarian Church.

Saturday, May 05, 2018 2:00 PM

Kendal of Ithaca 2230 N. Triphammer Road Ithaca, New York 14850