Barbara Anne "Charbonneau" Anton

Barbara Anne Anton, 79, of Farmington, MI, passed away on October 12, 2017.  Visitation will be held on Tuesday, October 17th from 2:00 pm – 8:00 pm with a rosary at 7:00 pm. The funeral service will be held on Wednesday, October 18th at 11:00 am at Manns Family Funeral Home, 17000 Middlebelt Road, Livonia, MI.  Burial will follow the funeral at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.  Barbara was born at her family’s farm in Elkton, MI on August 31, 1938.  She graduated from Ladywood High School in 1956 and some of her classmates were still an important part of her life. Sharon Gronostalski, Joan Kubinski and her enjoyed going to the movies and dinner, spending much time laughing.  Barbara worked as a Branch Chief for Information Systems at the Internal Revenue Service for 33 years, mentoring many young employees in their careers.  After retiring Barbara, always wanting to be on the go, went to work at Lord & Taylor part time.  Barbara had a number of passions in her life; traveling, gardening, her family, feeding the birds and animals (especially her cats).  Her strong love of travel took her across the United States and around the world.   From camping in the Smokey Mountains to trekking with the penguins and her traveling friend, Maria Rubago, in Antarctica she loved every moment of it.  Barbara spent a lot of her time outside gardening; pulling weeds and trimming bushes with her “granddog” Maggie by her side, right up until the end.  Her family meant the world to her and her grandson Michael was the light of her life.  She never missed one of his rowing regattas or school activities and loved being “grandma” to all the boys, especially Dennis and Ben Caplinger.  A highlight of her life was when she and good friend Jamie Ebaugh took Mike and two of his friends; Dennis Caplinger (her “adopted” grandson) and Chris Artt to Hawaii for their high school graduation. When Mike met and married Dawn (Shively) Anton, Barbara fell in love with her too.  She loved travelling with her daughters also and especially enjoyed their Friday night dinners.  Barbara loved to feed the birds and filling her feeders was the first thing she did in the morning even before having her coffee.  She loved to sit on her bench and listen to them singing in the trees.  Animals were a huge part of her life and some of her favorite days were spent at the Detroit Zoo where she was a member.  She has been very active in rescue over the years, especially with Backdoor Friends Purebred Cat Rescue.  Her cats meant the world to her and they will greatly miss her. Barbara is survived by daughters Beth Eriksson and Therese Babcock(Shawn Davis), grandson Michael (Dawn) Anton, sister Bernadette(Norman) Stetz, brother Eugene (JoAnn) Charbonneau, nieces and nephews Michael(Brenda) Stetz, Tom(Melba) Stetz, Tim (Cheri) Charbonneau, Kay (Robert) Summers; great nieces and nephews Anthony, Erick, Victoria, Nichole, Hawk, and Sarah; many dear friends and her beloved cats. Barbara is preceded in death by her mother and father, Elizabeth and Antoine Charbonneau..