Barbara Bartlett Browne Dillon

Barbara Bartlett Browne Dillon passed away surrounded by family on September 17, 2021. She was born June 30, 1921 in Boston, Massachusetts. Barbara attended Patterson Co-op High School in Dayton, Ohio in 1940. While her husband John served in the Navy in the South Pacific during World War II, Barbara contributed to the war effort by driving panel trucks and 18-wheelers. She got the job by proving her skill by backing a truck down a narrow berm. For one delivery, she was issued a pistol and was accompanied by soldiers with tommy guns; the payload was likely a component of the atom bomb that ended the war. Early in her married life, she became very active in school activities, including president of the PTA at Dixie High School in New Lebanon, Ohio. As a member of the New Lebanon Brethren Church, she sang in the choir, taught Sunday school and worked with the youth group. She made a point of returning to Dayton each fall to reunite with her sisters and their families. Barbara and her family settled in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she drove a school bus for several years even on Camelback Mountain. Barbara then enjoyed a full-time career as a quality control supervisor with Motorola for over 20 years before retiring. During retirement she remained active by volunteering with the Alphazonies Support Group and being the matriarch of a large family as ‘Queen Mother’. For the last 12 years, Barbara held status as the eldest of five generations of hardheaded women adding another branch of five generations in 2019. Barbara is preceded in death by her husband John Fletcher Dillon, daughter Sandra Vondrasek, son John ‘Skip’ Dillon, granddaughters Kimberly Tschirhart and Jill Villanueva, great granddaughter Meghan Louise Villanueva, parents Charles and Charlotte Browne, sisters Ida Akerland, Florence Bowlby, Elizabeth Huff, Natalie Hime, and Phyllis Richey. She is survived by daughter Barbee Lynn (Bill) Bennington, grandchildren Lori and Michaela Tschirhart, Mindi Dillon, Cyndee Farmer, Karen, Jonathan, Matthew and Esmeralda Bennington, and sister Claire Bohachek. Barbara had 12 great grandchildren and 10 great-great grandchildren. She is also survived by three nieces, six nephews and many friends. Funeral services will be at Rogers Funeral Home, 324 W Main Street, New Lebanon, OH 45345, phone 937-837-1272. The viewing is at 11:00 am on October 8, 2021 with the funeral at 12:00 pm followed by interment at Trissel Cemetery.