Barba Lane McCord of Allen, Texas, passed away on Friday, July 7, 2023. She was born in Poole Creek (Lott), Falls County, Texas, on July 31, 1932, the daughter of Abner and Lizzie Belle Tardy. The family will receive friends at a visitation on Thursday, July 13, 2023 at 10:00 am at the Church of Christ in Commerce, Texas. The funeral service will immediately follow at 11:00 am at the Church of Christ with David Gibson officiating. The interment will be at Rosemound Cemetery in Commerce. Pallbearers will be Jon Batio, Cody Hancock, Casey Hancock, Cade Hancock, Derrick Williams, and Jacob Wiggins. Honorary pallbearers will be Miguel Gallegos, Jack Hancock, Nicholas Farmer, and Ridge Tardy.
Barb graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, Texas, in 1950. In 1953 she met and married her lifetime love and soulmate, Sam McCord. Sam’s stint in the army, college attendance, and coaching took them around Texas, eventually to Commerce where they made their home and continued to raise their four children.
Barb worked as a housewife and at Temco in Greenville, Texas, until 1973 when she got the call to come work at East Texas State University/Texas A&M Commerce. From 1973 until 2012, she was an administrative assistant in the Department of Psychology, Special Education, and Counseling. In 2012 she moved to the College of Education where she worked until her retirement in 2019. She dedicated forty-six years to the university that she loved and continued to support throughout her life.
Barb is survived by her three children, Michael McCord (Renã), Carla Hancock (Jackson), Mindy Gallegos (Miguel), and daughter-in-law, Debby McCord; eight grandchildren, Mallory Batio (Jon), Cody Hancock, Casey Hancock (Meghan), Cade Hancock, Darien Mullens (Candace), Tara Williams (Derrick), Brooke Wiggins (Jacob), and Elizabeth McCord; seven great-grandchildren, Carys, Mackenzie, Mason, Isabella, Jasmine, Taigyn, and Kohen; sister-in-law, Maxine Sewell, and numerous beloved nieces, nephews, and extended family.
Preceding her in death are her husband, Sam McCord, her parents, Abner and Lizzie Belle Tardy, her son, Lynn McCord, and her brother, Abner E. Tardy.
The family would like to thank Christian Care Senior Living for providing a home, love, and companionship. The nurses, aides, and residents became extended family and she loved them all. Barb was free with hugs and kisses – and compliments. She never had a complaint or a bad day. Wherever she went, a party followed…if the event wasn’t a party, she turned it into one. She loved her faith, flowers, birds, her children, grandchildren, in-laws, and her friends with great passion. She ended each visit by blowing kisses and saying, “Love, love, love”.
In lieu of flowers, the McCord family requests that donations be made to the charity of your choice, or to the Sam and Barba McCord Endowment Fund. If giving to the Endowment Fund by mail, make checks payable to the TAMUC Foundation and note “McCord” in the memo field. Mail to: TAMUC Foundation, P.O. Box 3425, Commerce, Texas 75429-3425. Online giving is available at www.tamuc.edu/give. The Sam and Barba McCord Endowment is listed as one of the initiatives.
