In Memory of Christine Marie Barney

Christine Marie Barney, nee McCarthy, March 1, 1953- April 2, 2021, was the daughter of Irish immigrants, her dad a WWII 1 star-general and fighter pilot, and her mother the eldest of 11 kiddos who joined the coastguard, and met her future husband at a military dance. Margaret and Mike McCarthy had 11 kiddos, and my mom was smack dab in the middle, number 6. The large military family moved to different states every few years, thus mom loved her small town home in New Braunfels, Texas and vowed to never leave. Mom graduated from UTMB in Galveston with a Master’s degree in physical therapy and practiced for over 40 years.  She switched from adults to pediatric physical therapy for the last 5 years of her career, and just loved her patients with every fiber and cell in her being. She earned the nickname “ hummingbird” because of her slightly ADHD tendencies, where we would joke that she never finished sentences and had to be prompted to insert nouns  (J) and she was a high-octane worker-bee who loved to drink lemonade as she drove between patients homes, completing her physical therapy treatments. In her free time she was accomplished at baking, gardening, counted cross-stitch, and folk art. She loved to laugh, adored her community, and loved to invite friends to put their feet in the water at Spring Island, to escape the Texas heat. She loved and cared for her husband Phil as he developed signs of cognitive impairment, and weathered the storms of caregiving with grace and strength.  We called her the “Titanium Noodle” which was an homage to her strength and flexibility, resilience and fierce integrity to her friends and family. Goofy nicknames are a thing in our family, and “noodle” comes from Nana Noodle, which is what her granddaughters called her. She lived up to that nickname when diagnosed with stage 4 ocular melanoma in July of 2020, which she faced with so much courage, and a steely resolve to laugh in the face of death and cherish each moment she had left. Her faith was deeply important to her, she relied on weekly adoration at 3 am to provide her with strength and peace. She hoped to pass on Good Friday, the day her mother Margaret passed away, which is an important day for Catholics. She was granted that wish at 11:30 pm on Good Friday, just under the wire. Christine is survived by her husband, Phillip Barney, daughters Jessica and Elizabeth and their families.
This quote illustrates how she lived. “Not all are called to be artists in the specific sense of the term. Yet all men and women are entrusted with the task of crafting their own life in a certain sense, they are to make of it a work of art, a masterpiece”. -Karol Wojtyla
Mom’s funeral will be held 9/17 at St. Peter and Paul Church, in New Braunfels Texas, with graveside services to follow at the St. Peter and Paul II cemetery, on FM 482. Please contact Elizabeth Dorwart, edorwart@stanford.edu, for details as she is trying to put a guest list together from far away in California.

March 1, 1953 - April 2, 2021
This quote illustrates how she lived. “Not all are called to be artists in the specific sense of the term. Yet all men and women are entrusted with the task of crafting their own life in a certain sense, they are to make of it a work of art, a masterpiece”. -Karol Wojtyla