Barbara Smith Matson

BARBARA SMITH MATSONBarbara Smith Matson, 84, of Marana, Arizona, formerly of Bloomfield Hills,Michigan and Glen Arbor, Michigan, passed way on November 23, 2019Cremation was at the Vistoso Funeral Home, Oro Valley, Arizona.A Community Celebration of Barbara Matson's Life will be 2pm, December 28th,in the Memorial Garden, St. Marks Methodist Church, located at 1431 W. MageeRd, Tucson, Arizona. A reception will follow the service in the Fellowship Hall.Barbara was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on June 12, 1935. She graduated fromWalnut Hills High School. She received her BA in Education from the University ofMichigan her Masters in Education and her Phd in Education. Barbara wrote andpublished her dissertation, Understanding School Choice: What Guides aStudent's Decision? in 1993.Barbara married Charles Lyman Matson on August 29, 1957, recently celebrating62 years of marriage.Barbara worked as a teacher for more than 25 years including Brookside School,Cranbrook Schools, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan for 17 years. Subsequently,Barbara worked as a Research Social Scientist with Stanford Research Institute(SRI), Washington, DC. She assessed math and science education K-12 nationallyon studies funded by the National Science Foundation.Barbara enjoyed time spent with her children and grandchildren, gardening,hiking, lifelong learning, reading and technology. Over the years, she was alsoactively involved in Girl Scouts, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and served on variouscommittees at her Methodist Church in Traverse City, Michigan, prior torelocating to Marana, Arizona in 2018.Barbara is survived by her husband, Charles, children Kris, Susan and Robert, sonin law Mark Depew, grandchildren Jon, Sarah and Rebecca, niece Melissa andsister in law, Pilar Maria Smith.Barbara is preceded in death by her parents, Myrtle DeBeck Smith and Eugene J.Smith, and her brother, Robert Lowell Smith.In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Sonora Desert Museum, 2021 N.Kinney Rd., Tucson, AZ 85743. Condolences may be left in Barbara's guestbook atwww.vistosofuneralhome.com