'Lovely Person' Dies At 106

Funeral services for Mrs. Catherine Barnes, who lived 56 of her 106 years in Ann Arbor, were held today.
Mrs. Barnes died Wednesday in Whitehall Convalescent Home where she had made her home since 1969. She lived at 1022 Packard for 50 years and took in boarders during the last 26 years there as a widow. Her husband John owned and operated Barnes Wire and Fence Co. The couple met in Detroit where Mrs. Barnes, the former Catherine Bradey, lived. They were married in 1898.
As Mrs. Barnes prepared to quietly celebrate her 101st birthday Jan. 1, 1970, her son Arthur reported she had celebrated her 99th and 100th and wasn't much interested in her 101st. She was described at the time by someone who knew her as "a lovely person who looks and acts like a person who is only in her 70s."
Funeral services were held at St. Thomas Catholic Church, where she was a member of the Altar Society. Burial was in St. Thomas Cemetery.
Survivors include three sons, John A. of Seal Beach, Calif.; Arthur R. and Lawrence F., both of Ann Arbor; eight grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren, a niece and a nephew. Another son, Robert, died in 1969.