Barbara (Barb) Hayes Olmsted was born Sunday, March 22, 1931 in Columbus, Ohio .
she died Saturday, August 19, 2023. her recorded age was 92.
Barbara Hayes Olmsted passed away peacefully at the age of 92 surrounded by her children and grandchildren. Barb grew up in Bexley, Ohio, and attended University School as well as Western College for Women. She received a degree in Fine Arts from Denison University, and was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority. She and her husband, Pete, built their house in Worthington where they raised their three children and made lifelong friends. She called it home for 56 years.
Barb treasured her many special friendships made throughout her life. Barb and her best friend, Peggy, started a luminaria that became a holiday tradition in Worthington. She was a member of TWIG, CAPA, and All Saints Lutheran Church. She also volunteered at the Memorial Golf Tournament, Riverside Hospital, and the Columbus Zoo. Our mom and nana was the kind of person who wrote thank you notes for thank you notes, and you could always find her on the sidelines cheering for her grandchildren. She loved Sunday dinner with family, lunches with friends, traveling, and Broadway shows. Annual family vacations were the highlight of our year. We will always remember her picking up sand dollars with her toes, floating in the ocean, enjoying a glass of red wine, working on cross stitching, and completing puzzles with her grandchildren. Her family was her greatest joy and proudest accomplishment.
We want to thank Dr. Peter Kourlas, Capital City Hospice, Dr. Castle, and all of the kind staff at Danbury. Our Mom was able to thrive with cancer for over 40 years. Donations can be made to the OSU James Cancer Hospital in her memory.