Barbara Mae (Ackley) Stott was born in Alameda, Calif., on Aug. 26, 1926. Barbara was the only child of Harley J. Ackley and Mabel Rose (Tomlin) Ackley. Her early years were spent in Alameda but she never stayed long in any one place.  Her father was a civil engineer, and she spent her childhood traveling as a family to her father’s job sites. 

It took them to many places throughout California, into Oregon and then Colorado. She has fond memories of one summer in Sequoia National Park while her father worked on building a Park road; many a night was spent listening to talks from the forest ranger around the campfire. Other places in California she lived as a young child included Santa Monica, Kyburz, and Grass Valley. She loved their family excursions to Lake Tahoe, a place that remained close to her heart throughout her life. 

She also loved horseback riding. She spent her early years of high school in Grants Pass, where she met the love of her life, John Wilson Stott of Grants Pass, son of Thomas Melville and Sara E. (McGrath) Stott. Travels with her family would then take her to Fairplay, Colo. before returning to Alameda for her senior year in high school.  Meanwhile, John joined the Army Air Corps to serve as a fighter pilot in the European front during WWII. The two remained in love and after John returned from Europe, they were married on Dec. 1, 1944, in Grants Pass. After John’s discharge from the military in 1945, they moved to Grants Pass, where Barbara later gave birth to three sons; John H.,Douglas M. and Jeffrey L..

Barbara’s husband John grew up loving the Steens Mountain and surrounding country of Eastern Oregon. He moved his young family to this area, specifically the little town of Frenchglen. They remained here for close to 20 years. Together, John and Barbara owned and ran the Frenchglen General Store, which serviced the surrounding cattle ranches, with John as the Frenchglen Postmaster. It was a challenging life for Barbara; unlike the world she grew-up in. They shared their home with the general store and though they had electricity it was a very rustic and somewhat isolated life, filled with colorful characters and rowdy buckaroos. The nearest large town of Burns,  was over 60 miles away on what originally was dirt roads; mud roads in the winter.  

John loved the location and the life and this was important to Barbara. She often commented that she was glad she’d only had boys!  She wouldn’t know what to do if she had to raise girls in that wild environment. Luckily, Frenchglen was also a world-renown birdwatching area, and she especially enjoyed the times that people from all over the world came into the store on their visit to the wildlife refuge.  

Once the boys were out of the house, John and Barbara made yearly trips to California, enjoying golfing and tennis in places like Napa, Death Valley and Carmel.  Eventually they retired to Hines. After John’s death on Oct. 8, 1998, Barbara wished to move back to California. Her youngest son, Jeff, lived in Davis, Calif. and she chose that to be her home. She continued playing tennis until her mid-eighties which helped keep her young. She remained in Davis for 24 years until her passing. Barbara was a remarkable, intelligent woman who was fiercely independent. She was always smiling, always positive. All Barbara’s son would agree that she was the rock of the family as well as a first-class chef. 

Barbara died on Oct 7, 2024 at the age of 98. She lived a long and full life. She is survived by her three sons, five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.  She will be cremated, followed later by a private family memorial.