Sr. Francine Barber, OP, baptized Frances Jeanette Barber, died on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, at the Dominican Life Center in Adrian, Michigan. She was 85 years of age and in the 58th year of her religious profession: 34 in the Dominican Sisters of Edmonds, Washington, and 24 in the Adrian Dominican Congregation.
Sr. Francine was born in Pueblo, Colorado, to James Franklin and Corrine Charlotte (DeFord) Barber. She graduated from Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education/Foreign Language from Western Washington State University in Bellingham, Washington, and a Master of Arts degree in Pastoral Studies/Religious Formation from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri.
Sr. Francine ministered for over 10 years in education in Seattle, Washington. She served the Edmonds Dominican Congregation for six years as formation director and for three years on the Leadership Team, both in Edmonds, Washington. Sister ministered for six years in lay ministry formation at the Diocese of Covington in Covington, Kentucky, followed by five years as pastoral associate for volunteers in local parishes in Seattle. She also served four years as the director of catechesis/formation for the Diocese of Pueblo in Colorado. Sr. Francine served as a faculty member with the Catechetical Certification Program in Seattle and later for 11 years as a spiritual director and retreat leader at Assumption Convent in Seattle. Sister became a resident of the Dominican Life Center in 2022.
Sister was preceded in death by her parents, her half-brother, Leo William, and her half-sister, Margaret Barber Beard. She is survived by other loving family and her Adrian Dominican Sisters.
A Visitation was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, in the Gathering Space of St. Catherine Chapel. A Funeral Mass will be offered in St. Catherine Chapel on Wednesday morning, November 4, 2026. Prayers of Committal will be held in the Congregation Cemetery. Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, MI 49221.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Anderson-Marry Funeral Home, Adrian.
