Barbara Ann Loefstedt McCollum of Huntsville, Alabama, passed away at the age of 87 on December 26th, 2024. She was born and raised in Queens, New York and graduated in 1955 from Andrew Jackson High School. Following her dream of becoming a teacher, she graduated cum laude in 1959 from the State Teachers College at New Paltz with a Bachelor of Science degree. She later earned a master’s degree from The University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio. She taught elementary school in Goshen, New York, and went on to teach in the English Department at Auburn University.
She was a devoted mother, grandmother, wife, sister, aunt, and friend who loved to entertain, especially at Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day, which was the anniversary of meeting her husband, James. She had many talents and hobbies including gardening, reading, decorating, painting, cooking, listening to the opera, and doing crossword and jigsaw puzzles. She loved sharing her joy for every holiday, especially Christmas, and decorated her house for each one. She and her husband enjoyed traveling with extended stays in Germany, Romania, and Hungary. A forty-year resident of Huntsville, she was a devout Christian and an active member of the All Saints Lutheran Church.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Arthur and Inez Loefstedt, her brother, William Loefstedt, and her husband of 63 years, James McCollum. She is survived by by her children, Deanna Crawford, James McCollum, Jr., Jennifer St. John, and Michael McCollum, twelve grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, her brother, Arthur B. Loefstedt, Jr., her sister, Judy Cummins, and many beloved nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held at 10:00 am on Tuesday, December 31, 2024 at Laughlin Service Funeral Home, 2329 Bob Wallace Avenue, Huntsville, Alabama. A funeral service will follow at 11:00 am with Dr. Larry K. Inman officiating.
Please consider donations to the Tunnels to Towers Foundation (https://www.t2t.org) or Smile Train (https://support.smiletrain.org) charities in her memory.
