Barbara Plummer (nee Bowen), 80, passed away peacefully on March 20th after a lengthy struggle with pneumonia and cancer-related complications. It was the first day of Spring. She was a mother, a wife, an active supporter of charitable organizations and, for a time, she was a local television personality. And that is the order of importance she would have placed on the various roles she filled in her remarkable life. Most people would know her as Miss Barbara, the enthusiastic host of WEWS Channel 5's Romper Room. From 1958 to 1972 children across Cleveland tuned in daily to learn their Do-Bees and their Don't Bees, to have fun, and maybe - just maybe - have Miss Barbara see them through her Magic Mirror and say their names out loud on television. But it was her own family; daughter, Kathryn Plummer Collins now of Lyndhurst; son, Stephen Plummer of Astor, FL; and Gordon Plummer, her husband of nearly 60 years who were first and foremost. Born in Norwalk, OH, in 1930, she was very traditional in her views of what type of person a woman should be. She graduated from Wellesley College in Massachusetts. While still at Wellesley, she was introduced to and married Gordon Plummer in 1951. He had finished a stint in the Air Force and a degree at Dartmouth College, and was working in nearby Dudley, MA. Within a few years, Barbara had two children and moved back to Ohio when her husband took a job with TRW. She would live the rest of her life in South Euclid. It probably would have been a beautifully normal life if she had not heard, in April 1958, that WEWS was advertising for candidates to host their version of the syndicated television show, Romper Room. She loved to say that she went for an interview only because she was curious to see a television studio. Whatever her motivation was, she competed with 90 other women for the position and was selected. After asking her husband if it was "OK", she began a television career that would eventually have middle-aged baby-boomers coming up to her in the grocery story to ask, "Are you Miss Barbara? I loved Romper Room, but how come you never said my name?" The show "aired" for 13 years and she daily guided a half dozen preschoolers through a high-energy half hour of exercises, games, stories, lessons and (always) a look through the Magic Mirror to see the children watching at home. In many ways, Barbara Plummer was a pioneer, along with Dorothy Fuldheim, Paige Palmer and others, among women in television. Her family still came first, however, and so she arranged her schedule (which eventually also included doing TV weather, live commercials and special appearances) so that she could still be Mom to her own children when they got home from school in the afternoon. But all good things come to an end and the last episode of Cleveland's Romper Room was filmed on New Year's Eve in 1971. Miss Barbara, now simply Mrs. Plummer, immediately began looking for another outlet for her boundless energy. Barbara's passion for helping others became directed towards charitable and cultural organizations including the Western Reserve Historical Society where, among other things, she edited the voluminous catalog for their annual antique show for many years. She was devoted to Children's Guild, a women's group that raises money to support local child-serving organizations. She has served as the group's president and just this year was co-chair of Creations, their annual fund-raising bazaar. She was a president of the Wellesley Club of Cleveland, a founding member of the Women's Committee for the Cleveland Playhouse, and enjoyed attending meetings of the Intown and American Furniture Clubs . She has also served on the Altar Guilds at several Episcopal churches in the area, including St. Paul's in Cleveland Heights, where she worshipped in recent years. In her "spare time," Barbara Plummer was an avid gardener, making the most her small South Euclid yard, which was lush with color and vibrant scents every summer. She was a member of several garden clubs including, most recently Four Corners Garden Club. She not only loved fresh flowers and was skilled at arranging them, but she also dried flowers and herbs, making beautiful arrangements and wreaths. She often gave talks to community groups about the art of flower drying and arranging. Her other hobby was paper dolls, hand-drawing and coloring them and collecting those made by others. Her frequent talks on this unique subject were always very popular. Being a breast cancer survivor since 1978, Barbara Plummer was also an active volunteer with the American Cancer Society's Reach to Recovery program. She would need to show her strength and courage again in 1996, when she contracted lung cancer and had to undergo surgery to remove part of her right lung. With strong will and a love for all the treasures that life has to offer, she lived the last 14 years of her life the way she always lived: actively, vitally, giving of herself to her husband and family, neighbors, and community. She was always interested and eager for the next challenge, and looking forward to the next Spring, when her garden would be in full bloom again. From small-town Ohio girl, to Wellesley graduate, to Cleveland wife, mother, and television personality, to civic volunteer and grandmother, Barbara Bowen Plummer was a formidable woman. One who will be dearly missed by those she leaves behind. Besides her husband and children, she also leaves two grandchildren, Katherine Collins of Alexandria, VA, and Gordon Collins a student at University of Pittsburgh, and her brother, Stephen Bowen of Huron, OH. The family prefers that those who wish may make contributions in her name to the American Cancer Society, 10501 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106; Children's Guild, c/o Julie Corcoran, 519 Spicebush Lane, Chagrin Falls, OH 44023 or The Western Reserve Historical Society, 10825 East Blvd., Cleveland, OH 44106. Funeral Services will be held Friday, March 26th at 4 PM in St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 2747 Fairmount Blvd., Cleveland Hts., OH, 44106. FRIENDS MAY CALL AT BROWN-FORWARD, 17022 CHAGRIN BLVD., SHAKER HTS., OH, THURSDAY, MARCH 25TH FROM 5-7 PM. BROWN-FORWARD SERVICE 216 752-1200
Source: Brown-Forward Funeral Home Obituaries
Barbara Plummer (nee Bowen), 80, passed away peacefully on March 20th after a lengthy struggle with pneumonia and cancer-related complications. It was the first day of Spring. She was a mother, a wife, an active supporter of charitable organizations and, for a time, she was a local television personality. And that is the order of importance she would have placed on the various roles she filled in her remarkable life. Most people would know her as Miss Barbara, the enthusiastic host of WEWS Channel 5's Romper Room. From 1958 to 1972 children across Cleveland tuned in daily to learn their Do-Bees and their Don't Bees, to have fun, and maybe - just maybe - have Miss Barbara see them through her Magic Mirror and say their names out loud on television. But it was her own family; daughter, Kathryn Plummer Collins now of Lyndhurst; son, Stephen Plummer of Astor, FL; and Gordon Plummer, her husband of nearly 60 years who were first and foremost. Born in Norwalk, OH, in 1930, she was very traditional in her views of what type of person a woman should be. She graduated from Wellesley College in Massachusetts. While still at Wellesley, she was introduced to and married Gordon Plummer in 1951. He had finished a stint in the Air Force and a degree at Dartmouth College, and was working in nearby Dudley, MA. Within a few years, Barbara had two children and moved back to Ohio when her husband took a job with TRW. She would live the rest of her life in South Euclid. It probably would have been a beautifully normal life if she had not heard, in April 1958, that WEWS was advertising for candidates to host their version of the syndicated television show, Romper Room. She loved to say that she went for an interview only because she was curious to see a television studio. Whatever her motivation was, she competed with 90 other women for the position and was selected. After asking her husband if it was "OK", she began a television career that would eventually have middle-aged baby-boomers coming up to her in the grocery story to ask, "Are you Miss Barbara? I loved Romper Room, but how come you never said my name?" The show "aired" for 13 years and she daily guided a half dozen preschoolers through a high-energy half hour of exercises, games, stories, lessons and (always) a look through the Magic Mirror to see the children watching at home. In many ways, Barbara Plummer was a pioneer, along with Dorothy Fuldheim, Paige Palmer and others, among women in television. Her family still came first, however, and so she arranged her schedule (which eventually also included doing TV weather, live commercials and special appearances) so that she could still be Mom to her own children when they got home from school in the afternoon. But all good things come to an end and the last episode of Cleveland's Romper Room was filmed on New Year's Eve in 1971. Miss Barbara, now simply Mrs. Plummer, immediately began looking for another outlet for her boundless energy. Barbara's passion for helping others became directed towards charitable and cultural organizations including the Western Reserve Historical Society where, among other things, she edited the voluminous catalog for their annual antique show for many years. She was devoted to Children's Guild, a women's group that raises money to support local child-serving organizations. She has served as the group's president and just this year was co-chair of Creations, their annual fund-raising bazaar. She was a president of the Wellesley Club of Cleveland, a founding member of the Women's Committee for the Cleveland Playhouse, and enjoyed attending meetings of the Intown and American Furniture Clubs . She has also served on the Altar Guilds at several Episcopal churches in the area, including St. Paul's in Cleveland Heights, where she worshipped in recent years. In her "spare time," Barbara Plummer was an avid gardener, making the most her small South Euclid yard, which was lush with color and vibrant scents every summer. She was a member of several garden clubs including, most recently Four Corners Garden Club. She not only loved fresh flowers and was skilled at arranging them, but she also dried flowers and herbs, making beautiful arrangements and wreaths. She often gave talks to community groups about the art of flower drying and arranging. Her other hobby was paper dolls, hand-drawing and coloring them and collecting those made by others. Her frequent talks on this unique subject were always very popular. Being a breast cancer survivor since 1978, Barbara Plummer was also an active volunteer with the American Cancer Society's Reach to Recovery program. She would need to show her strength and courage again in 1996, when she contracted lung cancer and had to undergo surgery to remove part of her right lung. With strong will and a love for all the treasures that life has to offer, she lived the last 14 years of her life the way she always lived: actively, vitally, giving of herself to her husband and family, neighbors, and community. She was always interested and eager for the next challenge, and looking forward to the next Spring, when her garden would be in full bloom again. From small-town Ohio girl, to Wellesley graduate, to Cleveland wife, mother, and television personality, to civic volunteer and grandmother, Barbara Bowen Plummer was a formidable woman. One who will be dearly missed by those she leaves behind. Besides her husband and children, she also leaves two grandchildren, Katherine Collins of Alexandria, VA, and Gordon Collins a student at University of Pittsburgh, and her brother, Stephen Bowen of Huron, OH. The family prefers that those who wish may make contributions in her name to the American Cancer Society, 10501 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106; Children's Guild, c/o Julie Corcoran, 519 Spicebush Lane, Chagrin Falls, OH 44023 or The Western Reserve Historical Society, 10825 East Blvd., Cleveland, OH 44106. Funeral Services will be held Friday, March 26th at 4 PM in St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 2747 Fairmount Blvd., Cleveland Hts., OH, 44106. FRIENDS MAY CALL AT BROWN-FORWARD, 17022 CHAGRIN BLVD., SHAKER HTS., OH, THURSDAY, MARCH 25TH FROM 5-7 PM. BROWN-FORWARD SERVICE 216 752-1200
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/201905543/barbara_r-plummer: accessed
), memorial page for Barbara R. Bowen Plummer (13 Feb 1930–20 Mar 2010), Find a Grave Memorial ID 201905543, citing Saint Pauls Episcopal Church Columbarium, Cleveland Heights,
Cuyahoga County,
Ohio,
USA;
Maintained by kellybean (contributor 47383012).
Add Photos for Barbara R. Bowen Plummer
Fulfill Photo Request for Barbara R. Bowen Plummer
Photo Request Fulfilled
Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request
There is an open photo request for this memorial
Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request?
Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s).
Oops, something didn't work. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again.
Make sure that the file is a photo. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced.
All photos uploaded successfully, click on the <b>Done button</b> to see the photos in the gallery.
General photo guidelines:
Photos larger than 8.0 MB will be optimized and reduced.
Each contributor can upload a maximum of 5 photos for a memorial.
A memorial can have a maximum of 20 photos from all contributors.
The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional 10 photos (for a total of 30 on the memorial).
Include gps location with grave photos where possible.
No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments.)
There is no plot information for this memorial. Your photo request is more likely to be fulfilled if you contact the cemetery to get the plot information and include it with your request.
You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial.
Memorial Photos
This is a carousel with slides. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel.
Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried.
Show Map
If the memorial includes GPS coordinates, simply click 'Show Map' to view the gravesite location within the cemetery. If no GPS coordinates are available, you can contribute by adding them if you know the precise location.
Photos
For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab.
Photos Tab
All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer.
Flowers
Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button.
Family Members
Family members linked to this person will appear here.
Related searches
Use the links under See more… to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc.
Sponsor This Memorial
Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option.
Share
Share this memorial using social media sites or email.
Save to
Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print.
Edit or Suggest Edit
Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager.
Have Feedback
Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you.
You may not upload any more photos to this memorial
"Unsupported file type"
Uploading...
Waiting...
Success
Failed
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
Invalid File Type
Uploading 1 Photo
Uploading 2 Photos
1 Photo Uploaded
2 Photos Uploaded
Added by
GREAT NEWS! There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery.
Sorry! There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request.
Enter numeric value
Enter memorial Id
Year should not be greater than current year
Invalid memorial
Duplicate entry for memorial
You have chosen this person to be their own family member.
Reported!
This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates.
0% Complete
Saved
Sign in or Register
Sign in to Find a Grave
Sign-in to link to existing account
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
We’ve updated the security on the site. Please reset your password.
Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Please contact Find a Grave at [email protected] if you need help resetting your password.
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
Email not found
Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person.
Sign in to your existing Find a Grave account. You’ll only have to do this once—after your accounts are connected, you can sign in using your Ancestry sign in or your Find a Grave sign in.
We found an existing Find a Grave account associated with your email address. Sign in below with your Find a Grave credentials to link your Ancestry account. After your accounts are connected you can sign in using either account.
Please enter your email to sign in.
Please enter your password to sign in.
Please enter your email and password to sign in.
There is a problem with your email/password.
A system error has occurred. Please try again later.
A password reset email has been sent to EmailID. If you don't see an email, please check your spam folder.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
Password Reset
Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code.
Registration Options
Welcome to Find a Grave
Create your free account by choosing an option below.
or
Ancestry account link
To create your account, Ancestry will share your name and email address with Find a Grave. To continue choose an option below.
or
If you already have a Find a Grave account, please sign in to link to Ancestry®.
New Member Registration
Email is mandatory
Email and Password are mandatory
This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Resend Activation Email
Your password is not strong enough
Invalid Email
You must agree to Terms and Conditions
Account already exists
Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox
Internal Server error occurred
If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map
You must select an email preference
We have sent you an activation email
Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters.
We just emailed an activation code to
Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.
cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
Within 5 miles of your location.
Within 5 kilometers of your location.
0 cemeteries found in .
0 cemeteries found.
Add a cemetery to fulfill photo requests
You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below.
Search above to list available cemeteries.
Getting location…
Loading...
Loading...
No cemeteries found
Find a Grave Video Tutorials
Default Language
Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [email protected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Thanks for your help!
Preferred Language
We have set your language to based on information from your browser.