Barbara L. Castleberry

Barbara Lou Castleberry Smith

Barbara was born in Denton, Texas, on September 22, 1936. She resided in Houston, Texas.

Peacefully God called her home on November 12, 2025, at 3:17 am.

To know Barbara was to be wrapped in a special & warming love that never asked for anything in return. She greeted everyone with her beautiful smile and her soft spirit & kindness to others.

Sweet, giving, & always gracious. A nurturer from her heart & she opened her home and her heart to anyone who needed it.

Mom could turn a kitchen into a sanctuary, with Her homeade stuffing & gravy as we all know, we couldn’t match!

Memaws Macaroni is already legendary,but it was the love she stirred into every recipe that made everything special, she was the best!

Mother poured that same love into her beautiful Oil paintings, and watercolors!

She could sew anything, from drapes to little dresses, she definitely was gifted with her sewing skills!

Her Garden always bloomed because she whispered to her precious flowers & she was born with a green thumb!

Her Grandchildren adored their Memaw because she always took the time to listen to them all! Never forgetting a birthday to her very large Family!

She was our steady light through every storm, the soft voice that said “we’ll get through this” when sorrow came, the faithful hand that lifted us when we fell. Even now, heaven feels a little brighter because she’s there.

Preceded in death by

Her father, Therman Smith; Her mother, Milbrey Kirkland; Grandmother, Bessie Kirkland; Brothers, Raymond & Dale Smith; Sister, JoAnne Willingham; Survived by her cherished children; Debra Stovall; Vickey Busch; Cherie Smith; Her adored grandchildren (Eldest to youngest) Coby Busch, Kimberly Dockins, Charlie Richey, Amber Busch, Ryan Stovall, David "Dusty" Stovall, Emily Hogan.

17 Great-grandchildren

One Breathe Away 

The house now falls silent and still,

Her coffee cup sits quiet no longer filled.

She faced every storm without fear,

Her love always steady, always near.

She held us through sorrow and pain,

And taught us to rise up yet again.

Her light was a soft, faithful glow,

A gift that she shared here below.

It brightened the hardest of days,

And guided us gently always.

Heaven has welcomed her home,

No longer on earth will she roam.

Her soul still shines through every

piece of art she’s painted & drawn.

The one some knew as Barbara &

others, the one & only, Memaw, who

forever lives on.

Yet still in our hearts she will stay,

Forever, holding her close, just one

breath away.

~ D.S.

Memaw didn’t just leave memories—she left pieces of her heart in every one of us. We will love her, miss her, and smile through the tears until we’re one breath away again.