Barbara Van Dusen, 90

Barbara Van Dusen went home to be with the Lord on Wednesday, April 17, she was 90 years old. She was born in Huntington Park, California on Dec. 22, 1933 to Herbert and Lavonne Peterson.

She grew up in Huntington Park and graduated from Huntington Park High School in the class of 1950. She worked at Woolworth’s in Huntington Park where she met the love of her life, Harold Van Dusen. They were married on March 10, 1956, in a small family ceremony. They had their son David in 1958 and then had their daughter Cindy in 1961. They lived in South Gate, California for the rest of the time they lived in Southern California. She was a stay-at-home mom and raised the kids while Harold worked for the South Gate Post Office. They were actively involved in the South Gate Church of Christ where she was a Sunday School teacher and helped being a counselor at Angeles Crest Christian Camp. In May of 1969, she and the family moved to Kalispell and spent the rest of her life here.

They became members at Central Christian Church here in Kalispell. For the last few years of her life she was a member of Easthaven Baptist Church. In the 70s she worked part-time for the election department during voting seasons and then got a full-time job with the Flathead County Data Processing department. After she retired from the county, she and Harold enjoyed traveling around the US and Canada. She loved to travel and three of her favorites were Lake Louise and Jasper, Alberta and Hawaii. She and Harold both volunteered at Kalispell Regional Hospital and found that very rewarding and made some very good friends there. 

She was preceded in death by her husband, Harold in 2009 and then lived with her two older sisters. The three of them took several long road trips around the country. They were like the golden girls.

Besides Harold, she was preceded in death by her father in 1977, her mother in 1987 and her sisters, Betty and Donna Peterson in 2017. 

She is survived by her two children, David Van Dusen in Seattle, her daughter, Cindy (Van Dusen) Block and her husband, Walter of Kalispell; four grandchildren, Joshua Block and his wife, Brooke; Mitchell Block and his wife, Elizabeth of Kalispell; Angela Van Dusen and her fiancé, Jared of Auburn, Washington; and Meagan Cisneros and her husband, Michael of North Bend, Washington; five great-grandchildren, Rachel, Micah, Selah, and Benjamin Block, all of Kalispell, and Canley Cisneros of North Bend, Washington.

The family would also like to thank the staff and her extended family at Prestige Assisted Living who cared for her until her passing.  

There will be a memorial service at 1 p.m. on Monday, April 22, at Easthaven Baptist Church, 2010 Whitefish Stage Road, Kalispell. Graveside services will be private before the service.

Arrangements are under the care of Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home and Crematory.