Iola Mae Barr

Aug 5, 1936 ~ Aug 6, 2023 

Iola Mae Barr embraced life with enthusiasm and passion, until her very last breath just hours after her 87th birthday. She was surrounded by her loving family at home in Palm Desert Resort. Everyone in her family feels eternally lucky and grateful to have been in her sphere of love, fun, adventure and devotion to family. Her magnificent essence will live on through the family and friends whose lives she touched.

She was born in Waterloo, Iowa, to Harmon and Hazel Smith, an engineer and a country schoolteacher. Their family traveled frequently to National Parks, Canada and Minnesota, camping, canoeing and playing cards. She loved to swim, becoming a lifeguard, and her love of piano brought her years of playing at church and events. She met Don, the love of her life, and the two became a pair. They were cheerleader and football player, and crowned Homecoming King and Queen. They were married in college on Dec. 26, 1954. In 1959, they left the cold winters of Iowa and headed for California. They landed in Costa Mesa, raised their beautiful family of 4 girls and purchased their winter home on the 18th hole at Palm Desert Resort, in 1991 Don and Iola were both teachers in Orange County, which gave them every summer to fill with adventures! Converting a school bus into a camper, they went on wild camping trips, river raft adventures and exciting motorcycle escapades through California & Baja. The highlight was a two-month, adventure-filled, tropical camping trip on four of the Hawaiian Islands in 1971. Iola, a fearless leader, led her girls blindly through lava tubes, up and down muddy waterfall trails, into caves, down waterfalls, all the while teaching of the culture of Hawaii and its beauty.

Iola had a lifetime passion for hiking, including many National Parks, Hawaii, Mt Whitney (twice), Yosemite’s Half Dome, Havasupai, AZ (8 times), Milford Track, New Zealand, Mt

Olympus in Greece, and her ultimate, Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania (19,341ft!). She also loved joining other hikers in and around the Coachella Valley for many hikes, Ladders Canyon among her favorites. She was always encouraging and supportive, helping everyone reach their goal.

Iola developed many valued friendships at PDR, immersing herself in golf and bridge. She was a fierce competitor in both! As a master bridge player, she enjoyed playing with her partner Pat Cochrane in weekly tournaments at the Duncan Bridge Center, attending many regional competitions, around the area and even in Las Vegas! This love of bridge spilled into PDR and soon a weekly “at home” bridge group was formed by Iola and Pat. They were quite a team!

They got their husbands involved, both Don and Barry, along with John and Anna Mae Morhman and Cece and Beth Dawley, enjoying weekly Sunday games. She LOVED bridge! Iola was also an avid golfer, actively involved in the Ladies Club. She served as Membership Chair for several seasons, assisted with many tournaments and participated in as many as she could.

These included the Canadian Open, the Christmas Tournament, the Betty Boop T&A, the Red Neck Open and the Member Guest, which she played annually with her daughter Vicki for 20 years. And yes, Iola did have a Hole-In-One on #6 at PDR!

She will be deeply missed by her loving and devoted husband of 68 years, Don, and her four daughters Vicki Barr-Bouma (Christy), Wendy Schmidt (Gary), Amy Nacca (Bill), & Jodi Barr.

She has eight adoring grandchildren and 7 1/2 great-grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life will take place on Sunday, Nov. 12, 3-5 p.m., at Palm Desert Resort.