Barbara Rose (McCririck) Colburn

Barbara Rose McCririck Colburn , 86, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida passed away peacefully on June 8, 2021 in a local hospital after a brief illness. Her family was at her bedside. Barbara was born January 27, 1935 in Cleveland, Ohio, and was a woman of deep, abiding love and faith. One never doubted how much she loved them or how much she trusted God. While her love was present, obvious and outward facing, her devotion was more introspective and personal, especially as she got older. In her earlier years, she was very active in many churches. First as a Baptist, then as an Episcopalian and finally finding a home in the Catholic Church. Throughout her life, she worked with youth ministries; going on trips, chaperoning, and giving testimony to God’s love in her life. Her beautiful singing voice was present in several church choirs. For a time, at Holy Rosary Church in Miami, she was part of a musical group, the Mickey Mouse Music Ministry, who performed at every Saturday Vigil mass. Don’t let the name fool you as this was a highly talented and inspirational group. In her later years, she preferred to pray in private, saying the Rosary regularly and sending donations to worthy charities. She often credited her children, especially Charlie, for keeping her close to God, as she was always praying for their souls and their safety.
She is a first generation American, daughter of Homer and Margaret McCririck, who emigrated from Ayrshire, Scotland in 1923. The family later moved to Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, her family moved to Miami, Florida where they remained for many years. Barbara graduated from Miami High School in 1953 where she had been very active in the marching band and was a majorette/soloette. Through the years she continued her friendship with one of the other soloettes, Milbrey. Barbara sang in the chorus and did commercial modeling while in high school. After graduating, Barbara continued modeling and participated in many beauty pageants. Her beauty, poise and charm made her a formidable contestant as exemplified by her 10 titles along the way. Her favorite was being selected as the 1954 Orange Bowl Queen. The numerous newspaper articles and photos show the breadth, glamour and import of this title during the 1950’s.
Shortly after her reign as the Orange Bowl Queen, Barbara married Russell Gleason. They had one son, Richard, before divorcing a few years later. Barbara began a career as a stewardess with Eastern Airlines during the golden years of commercial aviation and enjoyed traveling and meeting new people with every flight. A few years later she married William Tennis and had two daughters, Tiffany and Heather. Bill also adopted her oldest son, Richard. After 10 years and a few moves to include Morgan City, Louisiana, Woodbridge, Virginia and Destin and Fort Walton Beach, Florida, they went their separate ways.
In 1970, Barbara found her forever love and married her third and final husband, James “Jimmy” Colburn. Their relationship was a long and loving one, celebrating 51 years of marriage a few days before she passed away. They had one son together, Charles. Jim was in the Air Force and was sent to Vietnam for a year after they were married. When he returned home, he was transferred to Homestead AFB in Miami, so the family moved once again. This was a homecoming for Jim and Barbara as they were both raised in Miami with extended family in the area.
Barbara’s giving spirit and caring nature led her to continued work in the service industry. She was a waitress, realtor, nurse’s aide, and LPN. She worked several years at East Ridge Retirement Center caring for the elderly.
In 1986, Barbara and Jim decided they were ready to leave the big city and move back to the place they met, Fort Walton Beach, Florida. This is where she spent the remainder of her life. Once here, she decided to go back to school once again, and she became a Registered Nurse. She worked several years at hospitals in the area and then transitioned to home health. She took care of many patients over the years and especially enjoyed taking care of children. She eventually retired from nursing.
Over the years, Barbara and Jim had many travel adventures including trips out West, an Alaskan Cruise and many trips to visit family and friends all over the United States. They never missed the chance to spend time with their children, grandchildren and friends.

Barbara is preceded in Death by her parents, her sister Jean, and brothers Homer and James McCririck.

Barbara is survived by her loving husband, James Colburn, children Richard (Shirley) Tennis, Tiffany (Ron) Hooks, Heather (Kurt) Bergman, Charles and five grandchildren, Isabelle (Theo) Ludovissi, Asa and Spencer Hooks, and Hunter and Travis Bergman. She has two great grandchildren, Phillip and Genevieve Ludovissi. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews and great nieces and great nephews.

The family is gathering in Fort Walton Beach, Florida to celebrate her life on Sunday, June 13th. A graveside service will take place the following day Monday at 10 a.m. at Barrancas National Cemetery at Naval Air Station, Pensacola.