Barbara Allen Giles

Barbara Foshee Giles

May 14, 1944-December 14, 2024

Mountain Springs Church on Wednesday 18, 2024

Visitation will begin at 11am. The Service will be at 12:00.

The burial will be at Mountain Springs Church

Proverbs 31:  10-31

“A wife of noble character who can find?”

“Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all”

Barbara Allen Foshee Giles was born on May 14, 1944, and passed away on December 14, 2024, at her home on Giles Hill.  4000 weeks is the number of weeks a person who lives to be 80 years has of time on this earthly home.  Barbara had a few more weeks than the average age of eighty for a total of 4031 weeks.

The early weeks of her life were spent enjoying the love of her mother, Sadie Foshee, and her dad, Allen Foshee.  She had the blessing of five sisters, Virginia Foshee Jones, Glenda Foshee Roper (Sherrell), Nina Foshee Stewart, Becky Foshee Roper, and Diane Foshee Clements (Frazier). They formed a bond of sisterhood that lasted all the weeks of her life.

When Barbara was almost sixteen, her weeks with her husband, Marshall Giles, began.  Over the next many weeks of time, she became the mother of Connie Giles Bolton Bainbridge, Jeff Giles and Susan Giles Bennett.  During this time, weeks turned into years, as she served her husband and children with boundless love and energy.  Not unlike biblical figures, she was young and devoted to her husband and children. Barbara and Marshall worked tirelessly to put food on the table and start the Giles Logging Company.  Barbara had a fearless spirit and truly lived life one day at a time.  Barbara and Marshall worked hard but then played harder.  Long before the words of “desiring a work/life balance” were spoken, Barbara and Marshall knew that the weeks on earth would not last forever!  She loved memories more than money.  Many weeks of her time were spent in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, with her sisters, children and grandchildren, and best friends, Janice and Roy Wilson, on many vacations.  This Giles Tradition continues today with her family traveling once a year to Gatlinburg to celebrate life and enjoy each other.

Barbara was wise enough to use some of her weeks to return to school to complete her education after her children were grown.  She received her General Education Degree and then became a Certified Nurse Assistant.  Caring for others was her passion and fueled her personal growth goals.  Barbara was a model for others who had started married life young.  She was not limited by her humble beginnings or the struggles that life can throw at a wife and mother. Barbara was a full-time stay at home mother many weeks, and then she sought jobs that took many other weeks of her life.

Countless weeks were spent being a grandmother.  Barbara wanted all her family around her and was instrumental in helping her oldest granddaughter, Marsha, to start her home next door to Barbara on Giles Hill.  Barbara’s two oldest great granddaughters, Kallen and Kamber, were adored by her and they experienced an unforgettable childhood growing up right beside Barbara.  Kallen, Kamber and Harrison, the three youngest of the family at that time, roamed the pasture at Giles Hill and the “creek property” under the careful watch of Barbara.  Priceless weeks of time for Barbara and for each of them!

As the retirement weeks came, Barbara and Marshall took several trips. An Alaskan cruise with her beloved brother-in-law, Lamar Giles and her sister-in-law, Audrey Giles was certainly a highlight of her weeks here on earth.  She and Marshall spent weeks on trips out west and to Canada and the Eastern Shore with her sisters, and the memories were recalled every Sunday as the children and grandchildren played Rook.  Barbara was a wonderful, southern cook!  Her sweet potato pie, banana pudding, and other dishes were the inspiration for the Sunday lunch tradition. Barbara’s family has eaten lunch on Giles Hill every Sunday for over twenty years. During her weeks on earth, Barbara was blessed with a legacy of five generations with the birth of her great, great grandson Kai.

As Barbara’s weeks on earth came to an end, there is much evidence that she was a noble wife and mother, truly surpassed by no other. She loved many people, and she was loved by many more people. A special heartfelt thanks to Southern Care New Beacon Hospice, Lisa Wilson McNeal, Patricia Crosswy, Aunt Nina, Aunt Audrey and Uncle Lamar for unrelenting caregiving. We are also very grateful to Pastor Clay Collins and the Mountain Springs Church Congregation.

Barbara is survived by her husband, Marshall Giles, they were married 64 years; her daughters, Connie Giles Bolton Bainbridge, Susan Bennett (Craig) and Linda Clements, daughter-in-law;  Granddaughters, Marsha Harris (Jamie), Ashton-White (Jason); Grandsons, John Bolton, Jarrod Giles (Katie), Hunter Bennett (Emily), Heath Bennett (Gracie), Harrison Bennett (Bree), Rodney Thornton (Sabrina);  Great grandchildren, Kallen Harris (Zae), Kamber Harris (Gabe), Caroline Thornton, Isla Cate Thornton, Ella White, Lucy White, Addie Giles, Harper Lynn Bennett, Madelyn Degerstrom, Kate Degerstrom; and one Great, Great Grandchild, Kai Trentman.  A host of nieces, nephews and other family and friends.

She is preceded in death by her Father, Jasper Allen Foshee, Mother, Sadie Willis Foshee, and her dearly loved son, Jeffrey Wayne Giles.

Pallbearers will be Hubbard Billingsley, David Giles, Johnny Giles, Mark Stewart, Chris Roper, Greg Roper, Jeremy Wilson, and Jerome Minor.