Dorothy Barker Winfrey

Obituary For Dorothy Barker Winfrey

Dorothy Barker Winfrey was born to the late Jesse and Glenn Morris Barker on December 14, 1926.

As a child, Dorothy accepted Christ as her personal Savior and was a faithful and life-long member of Mt. Nebo Missionary Baptist Church where she was a member of the Mother’s Board and a member of the Esther Circle.

She was a product of the Memphis City School System, having graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1944. She also attended Griggs Business College and LeMoyne College.

Dorothy believed in work ethics. As a young girl, she spent her summers at the home of her grandparents in Crawfordsville, Arkansas. There, she worked and saved money to buy the essentials needed for school. In her adult life, she worked at Universal Life Insurance for twenty-one years, after which she worked as a manager for the Memphis Housing Authority where she retired. A woman who had worked for many years grew restless and took on a new challenge, she began working for the Memphis City School System.

She was the family historian. Talking about our family history was a favorite pastime of hers. She shared so many wonderful stories about her family that would have otherwise been lost. She took pride in knowing that she was the matriarch of five different family lines.

She was a wonderful and loving wife to the late Rufus Winfrey and a loving and devoted mother to her only son, the late Lyncha A. Johnson, III. A grandson and granddaughter also preceded her in death.

Dorothy was raised by a mother who instilled in her children to always take care of one another, no matter what, and they did just that. She is survived by her two devoted and loving sisters, Jerline B. Taylor (Chicago, Illinois) and Ernestine B. Dorsey (Memphis, Tennessee), who gave her spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical support; her loving grandchildren, Lisa (Riley) Thomas, Holly (Demetri) Bibbs, and Eric (Megan) Richards; a very devoted and affectionate, goddaughter whom she raised as her own, Christina “Christy” Phillips; ten great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, grand-nephews, grand-nieces; great-grand-nephews, great-grand-nieces, a host of cousins, special friends, Billie J. Ballentine and family, and Razz Cumby and family; and two loving and devoted nieces, Deatrel J. Watt and Glenda J. Currie, who cared for her.

Send flowers to the service of Dorothy Barker Winfrey