Barbara Ann Vonderohe

Barbara (Barb) Ann Bahler Vonderohe left this earthly realm surrounded by the love of her family on February 28 in Indianapolis, Indiana after a long illness. Barb was born to the late John and Rebecca (Betty) Bahler on June 18, 1962. She was the youngest child and only girl which came with its own kind of baggage, including but not limited to frequent battles with her older brother about the true nature of her parentage (it was later confirmed by that brother that for better or worse she was 100% Bahler). She attended Warren Central High School and enjoyed horseback riding (a hobby she would later share with her daughters), singing (a talent that was notably not passed down to her daughters), and spending summers with family in Union City, Indiana. After high school, Barb pursued training as an emergency medical technician and was later the youngest paramedic in the state of Indiana. She ultimately pursued a career as a registered nurse, finding her place in the emergency room. All the above professions would prove rich sources for the stories she would later use to fascinate and horrify her daughters, nieces, and their boyfriends. She met the love of her life, Eric Vonderohe, on “the only blind date I ever accepted”, despite the fact that both of them attended Warren Central high school. They married and spent a lot of their early date nights on shift with the ambulance service, often accompanied by their toy poodle “Shmoo”. She would always have at least one toy poodle in the house, she is remembered to have told her then-new husband “It will be me and a dog or no me”. Their two daughters grew up surrounded by love and animals of various species including guinea pigs, a hedgehog and a miniature horse. Even when her health began to fail, she made sure her daughters grew to be independent, well educated, and always aware that they are loved. She passed down a calling to medicine (one daughter is a pediatrician and the other a veterinarian) and enjoyed bragging about her daughters’ academic accomplishments to random passers-by. She also had an enduring love of John Denver, beach vacations, Harmony Kingdom figurines, and home shopping networks. She is preceded in death by both of her parents, brother John Thomas (JT) Bahler and brother Timothy Bahler, as well as uncles Thomas and Robert Bahler. She will be happiest to be reunited with poodles Shmoo, Fuzzy, Strudel and Lilly. She is survived by her husband of 40 years, daughters Caitlin and Madalyn; brother, Michael (Debbie) Bahler; nieces Shannon McLaughlin (Brett), Gwyne Bahler, Grace McDowell (Graham), and Lucy Phelps (Blake), great- nephew, Gregory McLaughlin; and miniature horse, Queen Jelly Bean. The family sends their heartfelt gratitude to the doctors and nurses at Community North Hospital for their professional and compassionate care. In lieu of flowers, which she always found unnecessary and suspicious, the family requests that donations be made in her name to the Indianapolis Humane Society, the American Fibromyalgia Syndrome Association, or Friends of BARC in Houston, Texas. Services are private and final care and arrangements are entrusted to Shirley Brothers Washington Memorial Chapel, Indianapolis, IN

Tributes

Barbara Ann Vonderohe

June 18, 1962 - February 28, 2025