Barbara Anne Tupper, age 74, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, passed away peacefully at the Schneidmiller Hospice House on Feb. 1, 2021, due to complications related to dementia. She was surrounded by her loving family. When family and friends remember Barbara, they remember her beautiful smile and laugh. She was full of happiness and joy, and all who crossed her path felt welcome and loved.

Barbara was born on Sept. 18, 1946, in Oak Park, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. She was raised by her loving parents, Anne and Robert. As kids, Barbara and her big brother, Richard, would roller skate, ride bikes, and ice skate in the winter at Rosedale Park. Three more siblings would join them, Sandie, Debbi and Dennis. In 1957, the family moved to Sunland, Calif. Barbara graduated from Verdugo Hills High School in 1964. The birth of her three daughters: Karen, Cyndee and Christy, followed her first marriage to Lyn Taylor in 1965.

Some call it chance, fate, or an act of God, but in 1972, she met the love of her life and soulmate, Robert Tupper, at a park in North Hollywood, Calif. In 1977, they were married in Burbank and later that year, moved to Coeur d’Alene. In 1980, they welcomed twin daughters, Kami and Kali.

Barbara will be remembered as a devoted servant of God and a woman of strong faith. She testified about Jesus’ love to many throughout her life. Barbara loved her family deeply and was a devoted mother and grandmother. She spent most of her life as a homemaker, though she periodically worked as a secretary. For a time she owned and operated “Cute As A Button Creations,” a bed and bath company where she used her sewing skills to handcraft children’s towels and other items.

She loved baking and cooking with her children (she made the world's best tater tot casserole!), sewing, beach days, walks by the lake, lavender and lilacs, pink roses, watering her garden, hanging sheets on the clothesline to dry, her white porch swing, garden tours, Shabby Chic décor, everything at Art on The Green, a Bowl of Soul at Java on Sherman, and most of all — dancing! Barbara attended Zumba classes at the Kroc Center for years, wearing a Zumba skirt and bracelets covered in jingle bells, and talking her family members into joining her. She often started dance parties in her living room featuring the electric slide, the hustle, and the macarena. She enjoyed playing “the rock game” on the front steps and “spoons" at the kitchen table with her grandkids. Barbara attended many classic car shows and dances with her husband and loved cruising in their hot rod around town, waving out the window at passersby.

Barbara was preceded in death by her father and mother, Robert and Anne (Golkants) Jacobsen. She is survived by her beloved husband, Robert Tupper; daughters, Karen Smith (Cary), Cyndee Richardson (Keith), Christy Cole (Scott), Kami Bell (Scott) and Kali Tupper (Dave Richards); grandchildren, Cody, Taylor, Brady and Riley Smith, Kevin Richardson and Courtney Zumbro, Jake and Brittney Cole, Abbott Bell and Willow Richards; great-grandchildren, Lilah Lindell and Quinn, Ruby, and Porter Smith; sisters, Sandie Jacobsen and Debbi Johnson (John); brothers, Richard and Dennis Jacobsen; nieces, Wendy English, Leslie Gillis and Gina Martinez; nephews, Rob and Tony Jacobsen and Zach Johnson; aunt, Patricia Bollman of Chicago, and many more loving family members and friends.

Her family and friends will miss her dearly, but we know she’s dancing in heaven with Jesus. A public memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021, at English Funeral Chapel, 1133 N. 4th St., Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. A celebration of life is planned for September. Please consider a donation to the Schneidmiller Hospice House in Barbara’s memory.

Please visit Barbara’s memorial and sign her online guest book at englishfuneralchapel.com.