Barbara Ellen Ebersole Amato age 78, passed away Tuesday, July 25, 2023 at the home of her brother Fred, following a courageous four year battle with cancer.

She was born on December 20th during the harsh winter of 1944 in Shelby to Elmer R. and Jessie M. (Higgins) Ebersole. The snow that year had been as high as telephone posts, and the roads were cleared just in time for them to get to the hospital. Barbara attended a one room School as a child and later graduated from Shelby High School in 1963. On August 29, 1963 She had met Eddie Amato, the love of her life, and they fell deeply in love. They were happily married for 50 years and 102 days before he passed away.

Barbara had worked many jobs in Shelby, but working for Pioneer Vocational School was her favorite. After the blizzard had hit Shelby, Barbara and her Husband Eddie had decided to relocate to Florida, where she then spent most of her adult life. There, she had numerous kinds of jobs, but enjoyed working for Motorola the most. She had learned many skills that she used for the rest of her life. Barbara and Eddie later moved to Manning, South Carolina after a devastating hurricane damaged their beautiful Florida home.

She lived life to the fullest. With Eddie being a pilot, they had visited, or flown over every state in the Union, and she was very proud of this. She loved to be outdoors mowing her lawn or tending to her multiple flower gardens. She was a talented home decorator and took great pride in her homes being show quality wherever she lived.
After the death of her husband, Barbara had decided to move back to Shelby to reconnect with her family. During her time there she had wrote a book about her life with Eddie titled “Till Death Do Us Part”, published by Christian Faith Publishing Inc. In her book she wrote this passage:

“I never realized when I took my wedding vows how much “Till death do us part” would mean to me so many years later. There is nothing I would change about my life with my late husband except I would have had children. At this stage of my life, I would love to see a son that looked just like him walk in the door and give me a big hug. That is what I truly missed in life. My advice to the world is to love one another and be true to each other forever. Life is short to do otherwise.”

Barbara is survived by her four siblings, Faye F. Steele of Shelby, Frederick (Joy) Ebersole, Sr. of Rock Creek, OH, Loy Loretta Ebersole of Shelby and Patricia L (Allan) Kempf of Shelby; sister-in-law Georgia Amato of Bellevue; 12 nieces and nephews, Jeffery (Pam) Steele of Mansfield, Audrey (Bill) Briggs of Mt. Sterling, OH, Karen (Curt) Yarger of Mansfield, Jill (Jeff) Fenner of Shelby, David (Dana) Steele of Shelby, Shelley (Russ) Stroup of Shelby, Mark Kempf of Shelby, Robert (Liza) Ebersole of Rock Creek, OH, Frederick (Julie) Ebersole, Jr. of Rock Creek, OH, Alicia Pine of Bellevue, Jeremy (Danielle) Bird of Bellevue, and Linsey Bird of Bellevue; one half sister-in-law Nikki; two adoptive brothers-in-law; 32 great nieces and nephews, 10 great great nieces and nephews, numerous cousins and other relatives.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her loving husband Eddie Amato; infant daughter Kelly Sue Amato; father and mother-in-law Joe and Ada Amato; sister-in-law Sherry Amato; two infant nieces Mary and Teresa Kempf; one infant nephew James F. Steele as well as numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.
She will be greatly missed by all who met her, especially by her family, who loved her deeply. Heaven received a very special angel and should be prepared to answer all her curious questions.
Friends may visit at the Barkdull Funeral Home & Crematory in Shelby, Saturday, September 9, 2023, from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM. A memorial service will be held immediately following at 11:00 AM with Pastor Doug Winner officiating.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital at 1335 Dublin Rd., Unit #200C, Columbus, OH 43215

Online condolences may be made at www.barkdullfuneralhome.com

Funeral Home: Barkdull Funeral Home

Website: www.barkdullfuneralhome.com