Obituary: Barbara Monzures, U.S. Air Force Major and R.N.

Barbara J. Monzures, nee Heeb, a Vietnam-Era veteran and major in the U.S. Air Force and a registered nurse, died on Oct. 6, 2013. She was 80 years old.

Born on July 20, 1933, she is the beloved wife of the late Col. Louis P. Monzures (2000). 

Her daughter, Jane Monzures, wrote a touching piece this summer about her mother's life and their battle with a degenerative brain disease:

"My mother, Barbara Monzures, was a former Air Force major, home health aide, school nurse and lifelong caregiver. She was once active, creative, fun-loving and talented. She was a woman ahead of her time — she had a family late in life, and focused on her career. She always helped others, always knew the right things to say. Today, she is a far cry from that woman I once knew.

"In 2008, at the age of 74, my mother was diagnosed with Cortiobasal Degeneration, a rare degenerative brain disease that affects only about 5,000 people in the U.S. This progressive neurological disorder has taken my tenacious, energetic role model and imprisoned her in her own body. She is cognitively very aware, but she has lost most function and mobility, as well as her independence."

Loving mother of George Monzures, Jane Monzures, and step-mother of Maria Monzures and the late Peter (Mary) Monzures. Dearest sister of Elizabeth Heeb (late James) Balachowski, Mary Cornelia Heeb (Bob) Fitte, and the late Charles Heeb. Visitation is Thursday, Oct. 10, 3-9 p.m. at Colonial Chapel, 15525 S. 73rd Ave., Orland Park. Additional Visitation Friday, 9 a.m. until time of Funeral Mass at 10 a.m. at St. Julie Billiart Church, 7399 159th Street, Tinley Park.

LEARN MORE: Visit the Colonial Chapel Funeral Home website.