A walk through many of the buildings at Windermere Baptist Conference Center reminds center visitors of Barbara Shock's eye for design and the love for the ministry she and husband Frank, Windermere president and CEO, shared. Mrs. Shock, 46, passed away on June 30 in Dallas.
Born in Union, Miss. on Aug. 7, 1957, she attended East Central Community College in Decatur, Miss. She earned a degree in nursing in 1978 from Belleville Area College, Belleville, Ill. She was a cardiac/intensive care nurse at All Saints Hospital in Fort Worth, while her husband attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
The Shocks began their ministry at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center in Louisiana. They moved to Windermere in December 1989. Over the past 14 years, Mrs. Shock directed the interior design work for several building and renovation projects, including the Deer Ridge lodges, Koehler Lodge, Lake View Lodge and the new Wilderness Creek project.
Mrs. Shock was a member of First Baptist Church, Camdenton, where she taught Sunday School for high school girls and led women's Bible studies. She served on several boards, including the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Young Life.
Diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a disease that causes inflammation and deterioration of the liver's bile ducts, she received two liver transplants in 1999 at Baylor Medical Center in Dallas. After rejecting the first liver in February, she received a second transplant in April.
"Barbara was a creative and innovative member of the Windermere family who played a major role in beautifying the entire campus," Windermere board chairman Arthur Mallory said. "Even throughout all of her trials with her illness and the transplants, she remained optimistic. She was a person with a deep Christian faith whose charm, style and grace always shown brightly."
Mrs. Shock is survived by her husband of 27 years, Frank Shock; a daughter, Betsy Shock of Springfield; a son, Forrest Shock of Camdenton; her parents, Clinton and Barbara Jo Russell of Union, Miss.; a brother and sister-in-law, Randy and Sherri Russell of Jackson, Miss.; and a sister and brother-in-law, Lynn and George Hayes of Decatur, Miss.
Funeral services are scheduled for 10 a.m. July 3 at Clarke Venable Baptist Church, Decatur. A memorial service will be conducted at 2 p.m. July 6 at First Baptist Church, Camdenton.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Barbara Shock Memorial Scholarship Fund for Disadvantaged Children & Youth to benefit student campers at Windermere. Gifts may be sent in care of Windermere Baptist Conference Center, P.O. Box 458, Roach, MO 65787.