Obituary: Barbara Jean Voorhees

Barbara Jean Voorhees, was born on November 30th, 1928, in Somerville, New  Jersey, to Lester and Helen (Schmidt) Voorhees. She enrolled in the Iowa State Teachers  College, where she met and later married Darrel Porter in 1950. Barbara and Darrel had three  children (William, Shasha, and Diane). Barbara taught High School in the Township of Orange  for twelve years, then transferred to Central High School until 1980, after which time she obtained a Masters in Social Work. She was associated with Lutheran Social Service  (Waterloo), the Mental Health Clinic (Waverly), and finally the Northeastern Psychiatric Clinic  (Waterloo), where she was in practice for twenty years. Barbara and Darrel divorced in 1983,  but remained friends. In 1985, Barbara married Donald Gray, and they enjoyed 32 years  together before Donald died of Parkinson’s in 2017. She was also preceded in death by her  only son (William Porter, 2020), her parents, and her nephew (Peter Wundram, 1998). Barbara  died on January 20th, 2026, at age ninety-seven, following a week in hospice after a fall in her  home, where she lived independently for her final years.  

She leaves behind three siblings (Helen Wundram, James Voorhees, Kathryn "Suzy"  Spiegel), two daughters (Shasha Porter and Diane Porter), three step-children (Kelly Gray, Joni  Gray, and Karen Beal), eight grandchildren (Ben Porter, Brad Porter, William Peterson, Ellie  Celin, Beckett Dahlberg, Anne Hovick, Jane Preston, and John Preston), and fourteen great grandchildren.  

There was a gathering in Barbara’s honor on January 25th, 2026, at the Dahl Van Hove Schoof Funeral Home, 1825 W. 12th Street, Cedar Falls, IA 50613.  

Any memorials should go to the Cedar Falls Public Library and the Cedar Falls  Historical Society.