Fran Barnard was joined by a small group of family members in a private room at Oscars in Summerville, to celebrate another birthday. A couple of balloons were strung to float above her chair and a cake sat uncut until after lunch. It looked like a typical birthday party, but this celebration was number 105 for Barnard.
A lot of history has unfolded throughout Fran Barnard’s life. The cookie lady, as she is also known, was born in 1916 and was alive during, among other things: World War I, the Spanish Flu pandemic, The Great Depression, World War II, the end of the Cold War, space flight, and most recently, the second pandemic, one that kept her from physically seeing her family for over a year.
“This COVID thing has been a disaster for everybody,” said Wayne Barnard, her oldest son. “We’ve only seen her once over the last 13 months.”
Throughout her life, she lost her mother when she was very young and was raised by her older sister, she married, raised three boys who are now in their 70’s, and wrote two cookbooks. One cookbook sold 5,000 copies.
“She spent her whole life doing things for other people,” he said. “When she moved into the Presbyterian Home in Summerville with my dad about 20 years ago she started a cooking ministry and made cookies for every single person on their birthday, including the staff. And then she wrote a cookbook and all the proceeds from the sales of over 5,000 of her cookbooks went to the employee fund at the Presbyterian Home.”
Her son said her mind can get a little fuzzy at times but she still loves to socialize as much as she can and still enjoys life. Her son said she offers a simple solution to living a happy life.
“The one thing she tells everybody about why she’s lived so long and is so happy, is her attitude,” he said. “She looks for the best in everything and that is what’s kept her going, through very hard times, through the depression through the war, through pandemics, sickness, family members being born and dying, but she always had a good attitude and that’s what has kept her alive.”
