Barbara Lee Spiker

Barbara Lee Spiker, age 86, of Columbus, Ohio passed away Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at OhioHealth Hospice (Kobacker) House. She had lived in Zanesville, Ohio for 30 years and moved to Worthington Christian Village in October 2022. She was born on October 10, 1939, in Columbus, Ohio to the late Lloyd E. and Berniece R. Blanchard.

Barbara graduated from Mifflin High School in 1958 and married her high school sweetheart, Lawrence J. Brooks on February 27, 1960. Together they shared 28 years of marriage until Larry succumbed to a long illness in 1988. God provided another soulmate and Barbara married Kenneth R. Spiker on February 11, 1994. They enjoyed nearly 20 years of marriage until Kenny’s death in 2014. Barbara’s testament of love, devotion, and perseverance in sickness and in health will not be forgotten.

Barbara was an active member of North Terrace Church of Christ in Zanesville, Ohio, where she was involved in the choir, meal ministry, JOY Sunday School class, women’s Bible study, and Senior’s ministry. Her faith and love of the Lord was evident and something she exemplified throughout her whole life.

After retirement she and Kenny traveled within the U.S. including Alaska and Hawaii, but her favorite adventure of all was touring Ireland. After every trip she crafted beautiful scrapbooks with pictures and memorabilia and enjoyed sharing those with others.

Barbara’s life-long passion was creating things with her hands as expressions of love for her family and others. She especially enjoyed sewing, baking, knitting, crochet, cross stitch, ceramics, scrapbooking, embroidery, and quilting. Barbara commonly had several projects going at once and some took many months to finish. She was extremely creative and mostly a perfectionist who had an eye for color coordination and presentation. She will be fondly remembered for being a giver of these creations and a decorator extraordinaire at holidays especially Christmas.