Barbara Jean Tarkington

Barbara Jean Tarkington, lovingly known as Jean, Momma, and Momma Jean, was born on May 5, 1938, in Webster Groves, Missouri, to Della E. Bobbitt (Jones) and Frank Bobbitt. She passed away on March 6, 2026, in Springfield, Missouri.

A proud graduate of Douglass High School, the black high school during segregation, Jean continued her education at the HBCU Lincoln University. While working part-time for the Webster Groves School District, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from St. Louis Community College. She went on to work for the US Postal Data Center in St. Louis for more than 20 years.

Jean and her husband of 52 years, Donald M. Tarkington Sr., shared a lifelong passion for travel. Their early vacations were road trips with camping gear, and after Don began working for Trans World Airlines, they explored Europe, Scandinavia, the Caribbean, and nearly every U.S. state, including Alaska and Hawaii. In her later years, Jean focused her travels on Black historical sites. Deeply committed to Black history, she traced her family’s genealogy with her cousin Wayne Calvin back to West Africa and an ancestor named Carrie. She was also an active member of the North Webster Neighborhood Coalition, where she played a key role in securing and installing a commemorative sculpture at the neighborhood entrance to honor its rich African American heritage.

Jean accepted Christ at an early age and served in ministry for many years at what is now Unity United Methodist Church in Webster Groves. After moving to Springfield in 2019 with her daughter Tracey, she became a cherished member of Pitts Chapel United Methodist Church.

She was preceded in death by her husband Donald M. Tarkington Sr., her sons Donald M. Tarkington Jr., Albert “Mike” Tarkington, and Bradley Tarkington, her brother Robert “Petie” Bobbitt, her son-in-law Rev. Nathan Wolff, and her grandson Markis Tarkington.

Jean is survived by her children Carla Tarkington (Michael Coleman), Kurt Tarkington (Fred Clark), and Rev. Tracey Wolff; her sister Eleanor Pitts; her grandchildren Donald Tarkington III (Angela), Tasha Tarkington, Lawrence “Tony” Tarkington, Breanna Tarkington, Crystal Tarkington, and Marcus Wolff (Brianna Bealer); 10 great-grandchildren; 2 great-great-grandchildren; and countless beloved cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.