Barbara Sawyers Spitler of Greensboro, North Carolina lived a life shaped by creativity, caregiving, heartbreak, humor, and a love that was often imperfect but always present. She was an avid crafter, a natural caregiver, and someone who found purpose in teaching during the early years of her life. Between the births of her three children, she taught school for a short time, bringing creativity and patience to her students. At home, she gave deeply of herself, sometimes more than she had to give, and her children experienced both her love and her imperfections. She was never a perfect mother, but she was always trying in the ways she knew how.

Marrying Gary Franklin Spitler in 1980 and becoming a mother to her three children were the accomplishments she was most proud of in her entire life. Those roles defined her, grounded her, and gave her a sense of purpose she carried with her always. When Gary died suddenly in 1995, her world fell apart. She never fully recovered from the loss, and the grief reshaped her emotionally and mentally in ways that touched every part of her life. Even so, her children remained at the center of her heart, even when she struggled to show it.

She also loved shopping far more than most people thought reasonable. It brought her joy, and she expressed her affection through gifts, surprises, and little treasures she could not resist bringing home. Managing money was never her strongest skill, and more than one debt collector may find themselves with a little less to do now that she is gone.

During the years the family lived in Lumberton, North Carolina, they attended Chestnut Street Methodist Church. She volunteered as a Sunday school teacher and served as a Cub Scout leader, finding meaning in guiding young people in a classroom, in a church room, or around a craft table at home.

At the time of her death, she was caring for her older sister, offering the same kind of support and companionship she had always tried to give throughout her life. A second failed relationship seemed to do her in. It left her feeling unworthy, and she stopped caring for herself in the ways most people do. In time, she moved to Greensboro to be near her two sons, seeking steadiness, familiarity, and the comfort of family.

She was a woman of contradictions. She was generous to a fault, yet often overwhelmed. She was creative and nurturing, yet carried a grief that never fully loosened its grip. She was also stubborn as a bull and would take no help or advice from anyone, even when she needed it most. Those who knew her saw both her strengths and her struggles and loved her for the whole of who she was.

Barbara is survived by her son Gregory Thomas Spitler and his wife Christy, along with their three children: Nicholas Alexander Mullins with his wife Kalynn, Haley Nicole Mangum with her husband Ethan, and Collin Matthew Spitler. She is also survived by her daughter Anne Elizabeth Seay and her husband James, and their daughters Caroline, Abigail, and Gabrielle Seay. Her youngest child, Stephen Franklin Spitler of the home, also survives her. She is further survived by her older sister, Phyllis Sawyers of the home, and many other family members who loved her in all her complexity.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Gary Franklin Spitler, and by her parents, James Marzelle Sawyers and Glenna Spauling Sawyers.

The family would also like to extend their deepest gratitude to her brothers in law, Brian Lee Spitler and Edwin Franklin Spitler Jr., and their families, for everything they have done over the years to step up and be a guiding force in the children's lives. She would leave a mess, and they would quickly try to clean it up. For them, her daughter is profoundly grateful, and even though Barbara would never have said it out loud, she was grateful too.

She was not perfect, and she never pretended to be. She loved hard, hurt deeply, and lived a life shaped by both joy and heartbreak. Those who knew her will remember her for her generosity, her flaws, her humor, and the love she carried even when she was struggling. Her family will hold on to the good, forgive the hard, and love her for the whole of who she was. And because she died on daylight savings time, her daughter would like it noted that if she ever accomplished anything in this life, it was proving that daylight savings time really can be the death of you.

She will have a private viewing, and her ashes will later be taken to the places she requested, to be spread in the future according to her wishes.