Barbara A. Rican
July 4, 1955 - June 16, 2021
Barbara Ann (Simons) Rican, born July 4, 1955, passed away on June 16, 2021, after a long battle with metastatic breast cancer. She was 65 years young.
It would be inaccurate to say that she lost her battle because she never stopped fighting. No matter how sick she was, she was always determined. When anyone else would have broken, Barb stayed strong.
Mom's fierce determination in life was only surpassed by her fun-loving, cheeky personality. You hear about those people who have "never met a stranger" but that's not a cliche' when it comes to Grandma Barbie. She was the friendliest of the friendliest and had a smile and witty quip for literally every human that crossed her path. She was an advocate for the underdog and the misunderstood. She stood up for what was right. She collected and curated a large circle of friends from every walk of life and around the world. She was the type of person to sign every written exchange with "xoxoxoxo." She loved karaoke and could belt out a convincing Bette Midler rendition of "The Rose."
Through her existence, we know what resilience, grace, and optimism truly look like. There was simply no quit nor self-pity in her DNA.
Barb is survived by her loving husband, Don Rican, her three "remarkable in her eyes" children, Sara Roberts, Lance Mertens, and Laura Whisler; her two "favorite" sons-in-law, Joerg Schumann and Jason Whisler; and the five cutest grandchildren in the world, Addison, Kolton, Vinn, Easton, and Emerson. Each of them feel very lucky to have had her in their lives. Barb was preceded in death by her parents.
Her service will be this Saturday, June 19th, at 2pm at the Ludvigsen Mortuary Chapel in Fremont. Immediately following the service, there will be a celebration of life gathering at The Castle on Main, 116 N. Main, Fremont, NE.
Donations can be made in her memory to METAvivor to fund metastatic breast cancer research. You can do so at www.metavivor.org
Online guestbook at www.Ludvigsenmortuary.com
To watch a recording of the service please use the following link:
https://youtu.be/W7wKRv0tm9M
Obituary Provided By:
1249 E. 23rd St.
Fremont, NE 68025
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