Avalene Barrick Obituary

Jessie Avalene Barrick was born November 22, 1925 in Cardington, Ohio to Walter and Lulu Sautter. After a few years in Cardington, her parents purchased a house and 24 acres on Route 95 east of Mt. Gilead not far from Walter's parents home.
Avalene attended a one room school, Whitehall, near her home for 4 years. She then attended the Chesterville Schools where she was a piano accompanist at the school for the choir and orchestra for several years.
After graduating from Chesterville High School as Valedictorian, Avalene worked at the North Electric Manufacturing Company in Mt. Gilead as a secretary.
Avalene had 2 sisters, Betty and Barbara and 2 brothers, Donald and Richard. All have preceded her in death.
Avalene married Gilbert Barrick March 17, 1946 at the Methodist Church in Mt. Gilead, Ohio. After living in Ashland for a year, they moved to Hayesville, Ohio. They bought a home in Mansfield, Ohio and later bought a home in Lexington, Ohio in 1952.
Avalene was a pianist and self-taught organist at the First Presbyterian Church in Lexington for several years. She also gave private piano lessons to many kids in Lexington for $2.00 a lesson, saving the money to buy the new piano she always wanted. Mom was a great Girl Scout leader and mentor to all the girls in her troop. She was also a counselor to News Journal carriers and sold real estate.
Mom was a fun Mom and took us and all our friends to the park to fish in the creek with a stick and a safety pin for a fish hook. We caught crawdads and ate canned spaghetti cooked on a fire in the can. She would often take us and neighborhood kids for a swim in the local creek. Mom was a very generous person and always made peanut butter sandwiches for the homeless fellows who got off the freight train in town. They would knock on our back door and ask if we had anything to eat.
Avalene and Gilbert moved to Mansfield then to Zanesville, Ohio in 1972. Avalene worked as a Nursing Assistant at the Muskingum County Home for over 7 years. She was a volunteer at Beaufort County Hospital for 5 years and then a Nursing Assistant at the Britthaven Nursing Home.
After retiring, Avalene and Gilbert moved into a house on Sautter Drive built by her brother Richard Sautter and his son Ronald.
Avalene is preceded in death by her husband Gilbert in 2011 and granddaughter Amy Hoskings Taylorsville, Utah. She is survived by her daughter Pat Glenn (Wes) West Jordan, Utah and son Keith Barrick Mansfield, Ohio; grandchildren: Emilie Jackman (Kamn) Genola, Utah, Natalie Ross (Neil) SLC, Utah, and Keith Williams (Jennifer) Ontario, Ohio along with many great grandchildren.
A graveside service will be held Saturday, July 12, 2025 at 11 am in Maple Grove Cemetery near Chesterville. Celebrant Jerry Wilson will speak.
The family requests that no flowers or donations be sent, however, messages of support or fond memories are welcome at www.snyderfunralhomes.com
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