Our beloved Barbara Ann Hernke went home to Yeshua on January 30th at age 75
Barbara was born to William and Harriet Book on October 7, 1946 in Waukegan,
Illinois. Barbara was adventurous and loved to travel. When she was a young adult,
Barbara was a nurse and worked in the American Hospital in Paris. Despite flunking
high school French, she went on to speak it fluently and so proved to her teacher that
she could indeed learn and speak the language!
Barbara met the love of her life, Paul on November 8, 1974 at The Old Post Office
discotheque in Neenah, Wisconsin. They had an instant connection and married on
April 5, 1975. They went on to have four children: a daughter, Dominique (Philip) Fong,
and three sons: Gregory Hernke, Hans-Petter (Lisa) Hernke, and Christophe (Winnie)
Hernke. Barbara also has three grandchildren: Christian, Hannah, and Ronan.
In addition to being a dedicated and loving mother, Barbara also loved babies and
children. She was a doula and helped many couples bring children into the world. Close
to her heart was supporting organizations which helped give expectant mothers help
and support in keeping their babies. She also loved arts and crafts. One of her favorite
crafts was making cards which always had an uplifting message inside to encourage and
inspire the recipient. Despite her infirmities, Barbara was very generous with people.
She made friends with everyone she met.
Although Barbara had been a church goer her entire life, she had a personal encounter
with Yeshua in her forties and thus began her faith journey with the Lord. She had a
deep burden for others to know Yeshua as she knew Him. He was her strength, joy,
comfort, and encouragement even when she was experiencing great pain because of her
physical ailments. Barbara and Paul traveled extensively throughout Israel and thus
developed a deep love for the Jewish people.
Barbara is predeceased by her parents. She is survived by her spouse, children,
grandchildren, sister Carol (Mike) Schroeder and many nieces and nephews.
Barbara is buried at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery. A celebration of life is
forthcoming.
In lieu of flowers, please send a donation in Barbara's memory to a charity close to her
heart: Committee for the Rescue of Israel's Babies C.R.I.B~EFRAT
https://en.efrat.org.il