Barbara Marie Passmore (nee Buzzell) died on March 15, 2024 at Canterbury on the Lake in Waterford, MI after a long battle with dementia. She left her broken body and mind behind and is now healthy and whole in Heaven. Barbara was born the 6th of 8 children to Gordon and Goldie (Johnson) Buzzell on December 18, 1943 in Pontiac, MI. She grew up in Clarkston and was a “Clarkston Girl” through and through. She graduated from Clarkston High School in 1962. She was a cheerleader and in student government while in school and loved cheering on the Clarkston teams throughout her life. She especially loved attending the boys’ and girls’ basketball games.
In the summer of 1960, she met the love her life – Guy L. Passmore – on Round Lake. While details of their first meeting vary depending on who tells the story, the truth is they went on their first date soon after and have been together since. They married at Clarkston United Methodist Church on May 4, 1963. Guy says that one of his most favorite memories of her is the way she looked standing with her dad that day before she walked down the aisle.Barbara worked as a secretary for General Motors until her second child was born and then decided to stay home. She started to watch her friends’ children and this turned into a licensed in-home daycare that she ran for over 40 years caring for dozens of children and babies.
She and “Daddy Guy” spent countless hours over the years at sporting events, concerts, recitals, graduations and weddings to support their daycare kids.
Barbara was a member of Waypoint Church since the early 1970’s. Through the years she sang in the choir, led mid-week programs for children, taught First Grade Sunday School for decades, and led the Sunday School opening time where she loved to teach the kids new songs, celebrate their birthdays and welcome visitors hoping to make them feel safe and that they belong.
She loved to sew – making her kids’ clothing when they were little and turning it into a tailoring business later in life. She enjoyed ceramics, music, puzzles, history and being with her family. She had an uncanny ability to sing hundreds of songs and her kids tried to stump her often to no avail. Along with her husband, she is survived by her three children: Catherine Passmore of Clarkston, Diane Passmore of Clarkston and Lt. Com. Guy (Cynthia) Passmore, Jr. of Quantico, Virginia, her two beloved grandchildren, Naomi Passmore and Josiah Passmore, sisters Connie (Dennis) Racine of Grand Blanc and Sandra (James) Isaacs of Waterford, brothers-in-law Wayne Deighton, Lee Strine, and Edward Passmore, and many nieces and nephews. Also surviving her is her special chosen bonus family members, Shawn Blevins, Glen and Sheryl Moore, Dr. Lauren (Mason) Winsauer, Jocelyn (Joshua) Dix, and Kelli (Khalid) Moore. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Ina (James) Lorenz, Beverly (Lawrence) Tulgetske, Lois Albright, and Betty Deighton, and her brother Alvin Lee Buzzell.
A celebration of life will be held Saturday, April 13th at 11:00 a.m. (visiting at 10:00 a.m.) at Waypoint Church, 8400 Dixie Hwy, Clarkston, MI 48348. Family will greet visitors before the service at the church. A dinner will be held at the church for guests after the service. Cremation services were entrusted to Lewis E. Wint & Son Funeral Home, Clarkston. Interment will be at Crescent Lake Cemetery, Waterford, MI. Memorials may be made to The Gideons International. Please leave a memory or condolence on Barbara’s online guestbook at www.wintfuneralhome.com.
The family would like to thank the staff at Canterbury on the Lake and the amazing caregivers from Gentiva Hospice who cared for her so well. We appreciate you more than words can express.