Barbara Kesner

Funeral services for Barbara Zoe Kesner, 90, West Plains, Missouri, will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, June 5, at the Langston Street Chapel of Robertson-Drago Funeral Home.  

 

Barbara Zoe Kesner – wife, mother, homemaker, baking queen, engaging storyteller, and a consummate caregiver to family and loved ones – passed away Tuesday, May 26, 2026, after 90 wonderful years of life.

 

She was born February 24, 1936, in Bakersfield, Missouri, to George and Sylvia Miller. Barbara graduated from Bakersfield High School and, in 1955, married the love of her life, Owen Merl Kesner of Tecumseh. They settled in Liberty, where they raised their two boys, and in the late 1980's retired in West Plains to be near their many family members in the Ozarks.  "Barb," as Owen called her, was a lifelong Christian who loved working in the church kitchen to help those less fortunate. Her giving extended to helping all – family, friends and neighbors.

 

Barbara is survived by her devoted husband of 71 years, Owen Kesner; two sons, Kenneth Kesner of Huntsville, Alabama, and Jeffery Kesner and wife, Lori, of West Plains; three grandchildrenm Patrick Kesner, Chad Bosley, and Debra Bennett; nine great-grandchildren; and multiple nieces and nephews, including Linda Marchand, to whom she was exceptionally close.

 

She was preceded in death by her parents and three brothers, Bob Miller of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Claude Miller, of Smithville, Missouri, and LaVerne Miller of Bakersfield, Missouri.

 

Visitation will be held from 1:00 until 2:00 p.m., Friday, at the Langston Street Chapel of Robertson-Drago Funeral Home.  Burial will be at Udall Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to United Freewill Baptist Church or Udall Cemetery, and may be left at or mailed to Robertson-Drago Funeral Home, 211 W. Main St., West Plains, Missouri. Online condolences may be left at www.robertsondrago.com