Barbara Salinger Gross Phillips, the family’s dearest Valentine, went to “Doggy Heaven” (in her own words) on Jan. 17, 2023.
Barb was always known as a generous and loving person. She adored her family, friends, jewelry, art, sunbathing, and dogs most of all. If you complimented something of hers, she was often known to take it off and give it to you along with a few extra dog hairs for good measure.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, on Feb. 14, 1942, she moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, when she was four years old. Her father was a buyer for Rothchild’s Department Store and made sure she was always well dressed. At 16, she eloped with her first love, Larry Gross, and moved to Texas, where she lived until their divorce in 1968. Though Barb was a young mother to her only child, she was the very best. In 1968, Barbara and Gerri moved to Kansas City to be near their precious family.
Barb had a great work ethic and was honest to a fault. She worked as a bookkeeper for the A.B. Dick Company (The Clegg Company in San Antonio) and a credit manager for Sterling, Inc. She prided herself on balancing her accounts to the penny each month. When her grandchildren would come to visit, she loved to show them the sparkle of the Sterling showroom.
Barb often flew to see her daughter and grandchildren. Her grandson Cory thought that his “Grammy” lived in an airplane. He would wave at each plane he saw and blow her kisses.
She also dressed up as “Grammy Woozle,” a clown for the Red Cross. She would pass out stickers, smile, and wave to children in parades and at hospitals Once, Barb dressed up for her granddaughter’s birthday party at her daycare. Instead of being happy, Amy was traumatized because that clown “ate her Grammy.”
Her granddaughter, Britt, also idolized her “Gram.” They often went to tea parties at the Grand America and plays, wearing their fancy hats and “fur” coats. They shared a love of art and design. Her grandchildren think of Grammy as the coolest person ever.
Before moving to Salt Lake City, Utah, to be near her daughter and grandchildren in 2016, Barb was a longtime member and volunteer of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah. Leaving Kansas City was not an easy decision, yet she loved the view of the mountains and wanted to be near her immediate family. Though Alzheimer’s stole her memory, it never touched the kindness and love she gave so freely. To honor her memory, please give those you love “genuine hugs” and lots of unconditional love as Barb would have.
Barb is survived by her only child, Gerri Gross Hixenbaugh (Ray); three grandchildren, Cory (Kara), Amy (Erik) and Britt; three great-grandchildren, Kaylee, Addyn, and Kendon; several adored cousins, and friends she adopted as the sisters she never had.
The family invites all for a Zoom funeral scheduled on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, at 6 p.m. CST at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81563962741.
