Barbara Gail Riley

September 7, 1947 - February 19, 2021


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Barbara Gail Riley, 73, of Kerrville, passed away on February 19, 2021 in Corpus Christi after a fierce 4-week battle with COVID. She was a strong woman that always had joy in her heart and a smile on her face.

She was born in Fredericksburg to Edgar and Amanda Strackbein on September 7, 1947. She was raised and attended school in Harper. Eventually moving to Laredo where she raised her family and helped operate her family oilfield service business for over 20 years. She semi-retired to Bandera where she opened a dog grooming business with her daughter and made many life-long friends.

In 2016 she moved to Kerrville to be closer to her family, where she worked in home health, showing compassion and love to the elderly citizens in the Kerrville community. She loved life and never met a stranger, she would strike up a conversation with anyone and usually ended up talking about her kids and grandkids and how proud she was of all of them. Her kids and grandkids meant the world to her, she loved her family with all her heart and will be greatly missed by all who knew her.

Barbara was preceded in death by her parents, Edgar and Amanda; grandson, John Edgar Schandua; sisters, Karen Pollard and Janet Strackbein.

Barbara is survived by son, James Schandua and wife Dolores of Texarkana; daughter, Tammye Riley of Kerrville; daughter, Susan Dawes and husband Tom of Kingsport, TN; grandchildren, Joshua, Tammye Sue and Emily Gail Schandua, Jayden Lujan, Casey, Ryan and Cameron Dawes; great-grandchildren, Hailey, Evangeline and Avery Grace Schandua, Elizabeth Grace, Eleanor Sophia and Owen Lucas Dawes; sisters, Sharon Burford, Jo Ann Esensee, Bernice Czajka, and Linda Roberts; brothers, Howard Strackbein, James Strackbein and Gary Strackbein; and many nieces and nephews.

Funeral service and viewing will be held at 2:00 pm Friday February 26, 2021 at Grimes Funeral Chapels in Kerrville, TX, Roy Riley officiating. A private family burial will be held at a later date.

The family wishes to extend our sincere thanks to the doctors and nurses at Christus Spohn-Shoreline in Corpus Christi for the valiant efforts they extended to our beloved mother.