Barbara Lou Moen

Barbara led an extraordinary life. When asked what the best part of her life was, she simply replied, “All of it”.

Barbara was born on August 27, 1935, to the late Julius and Helen (Hettenbaugh) Lobinger in Youngstown, OH. She had one sister, Helen “Honi” Engster and husband Dave, Littleton CO; and two brothers, the late John “Jack” Lobinger and wife Janet, Medina, OH; and Chris Lobinger and wife Sandy, McDonald OH. She had one sister-in-law, Dolores McKee and late husband Ralph, Dell Rapids SD. She had many nieces and nephews.

Barbara attended McDonald High School, McDonald, Ohio, between 1949 and 1953, where she played clarinet in the band and orchestra, was elected to the Homecoming Court, and was Prom Queen. Following high school, she attended nursing school at Northside Hospital, Youngstown, Ohio, between 1954 and 1957, and was elected Miss Student Nurse during her final year of training. Upon graduation, she worked in the labor and delivery department at Northside Hospital.

On December 29, 1962, she married the late Clyde O. Moen, to whom she was married for 24 years. Clyde worked for the United States Steel Company for most of his career.

Barbara and Clyde are survived by two children, her son, Carl Moen and wife Cathy (Leydig); and daughter, Cara (Moen) Denny and husband Brian; and grandchildren, Courtney (Moen) Cogan and her husband Sean; Cassidy Moen; Cruise Moen and girlfriend Haley Cogan; Trevor Denny, and great-granddaughter Ava Moen.

In 1969, Barbara and Clyde moved with their children to Nassau, Bahamas, where Clyde worked for Navios Corporation, a subsidiary of US Steel Corporation. Life in the Bahamas was both exciting and challenging, with beautiful tropical weather and beaches, hurricanes, power, and water outages. It was an amazing place to live, and many lifelong friendships were developed. She enjoyed the frequent visits from friends and family who came to enjoy the tropical paradise. She also had the opportunity to appear in a Perry Como special filmed in the Bahamas.

While in the Bahamas, Barbara enjoyed playing tennis, going to the beach, and enjoying the island lifestyle. When aerobics became popular, she was one of the initial instructors in Nassau and eventually became an instructor-trainer and taught several classes each week.

Life in the Bahamas also offered opportunities to travel, and Barbara visited several different countries including Mexico, Holland, Great Britain, Haiti and the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, as well as several of the out-islands in the Bahamas chain.

In 1980, Clyde was transferred to the New York office of Navios and then returned to the main US Steel corporate offices in Pittsburgh. Following these moves, Barbara returned to work as a registered nurse at County Meadows, Bridgeville, PA where she was eventually appointed Director of Nursing.

Following Clyde’s death in 1986, Barbara joined the Peace Corps and served as a registered nurse in Costa Rica. She loved her time in Costa Rica and the people that she met there.

After returning from Costa Rica, Barbara settled in Fort Myers, FL, and continued her career as the employee health nurse for Shell Point Village until her retirement.

Barbara loved animals and always had dogs and cats, including her previous cats Callie and Cher, and her surviving cat Bella.

Perhaps the best epithet comes from her great-granddaughter who simply said “She was chill…”

Barbara… Beb… Mom… was greatly loved and will be greatly missed.