Barbara A. Arensberg, age 86, of Atchison, KS, died October 23, 2024, at Two Timbers in Highland, KS.

Mass of Christian burial will be Monday, November 11, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Joseph Church in Atchison. The family will receive friends for a visitation beginning at 10:00 a.m. prior to the service at the church. Burial will follow in Mt. Calvary Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to St. Benedict Catholic School Endowment, St. Benedict Parish or the American Cancer Society in care of the Arensberg-Pruett Funeral Home.

Barbara was born on October 4, 1938, in Perrin, MO, the daughter of John Patrick Broderick and Irene Elizabeth (Quell) Broderick. She attended a one room school house for eight years in Perrin, MO. She went to St. Agnes High School in Fairway, KS, for two years before graduating from Plattsburg, MO, High School.

Barbara was very active in healthcare, including fifteen years as a phlebotomist at Saint Luke's Hospital on the Plaza in Kansas City and at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Joseph, Missouri, where she managed the clinic.

Her roots as a farm girl in rural Missouri instilled values that would shape her entire life. Growing up, she learned not just the practical skills of farming, but the importance of hard work, family, and community. These lessons served her well as she and Pete built their own family.

Barbara's kitchen was always filled with the aroma of baking, particularly during the holidays. Her legendary sugar and chocolate chip cookies have never been replicated and at Christmas, our home transformed into an industrial sized bakery where she prepared candies, cookies, and other treats to share with family and friends.

Her commitment to community service through St. Joseph Church in Atchison reflected her deep faith and desire to serve others. She was a member of the altar society, and she also held a leadership role with the ACES Endowment, spanning over three decades.

Barbara's volunteer work extended beyond church where she was involved with the Atchison Hospital Auxiliary and Junior Guild. Perhaps her most rewarding work was the American Cancer Society's Road to Recovery program where she coordinated a network

of volunteer drivers to ensure cancer patients could reach their life-saving treatments. This role perfectly embodied her practical approach to helping others in need.

She was united in marriage to Peter Arensberg on February 24, 1960, at St. Patrick Church in Perrin, MO. They shared sixty-four years of marriage until Pete’s passing on July 6, 2024. She is also preceded in death by her parents and her siblings, John L. Broderick, Thomas H. Broderick, Robert R. Broderick, Susan Elizabeth Pollnow, Patricia J. Wagner and Helen Jo O’Connor.

Survivors include her children, Brent (Laura) Arensberg, Brian (Amy) Arensberg, Robert (Christine) Arensberg, Mark (Sue) Arensberg, Cara (Chaney) Cullor; sixteen grandchildren; one great grandchild and three siblings, Johnny Pat Broderick, Jerry Broderick and Joan Broderick.