BARBARA BASSETT OLIVE of Fort Wayne left this earth and went to heaven on Friday, September 25, 2020. She was born in Indianapolis, IN, on March 5, 1933, the daughter of William R. and Esther S. Bassett, both deceased. She graduated from Broad Ripple High School, attended Ball State University, and went on to have a very productive career of service, as an educator, an executive, and as an entrepreneur. In the 1960's, she was one of the original Head Start teachers in Wilmington, DE, eventually moving to the University of Maryland Regional Resource and Training Center where she became a trainer of Head Start teachers, serving a mid-Atlantic region of five states. Recognition of her management skills led to her being named as the Executive Director of the Valley Program for Aging Services, an Area Agency on Aging serving five counties in southwestern Virginia. Subsequently, she became the Member Services Coordinator at AARP in Washington, DC, and was instrumental in establishing many of the AARP services that are so popular today. Later, she served as a management consultant for Boston Financial Data Services, a subsidiary of State Street Bank in Boston, where she wrote the nation's first bank disaster recovery program, earning national recognition. Barbara then became a successful real estate broker in Worcester, MA, eventually retiring in Fort Wayne where her husband took a teaching position at Manchester College. Barbara was a remarkable, loving woman with a sunny, optimistic outlook on life and a wonderful sense of humor. Each year on her birthday her father would remind her that on the day she was born President Franklin D. Roosevelt closed the banks. Barbara had many friends throughout the country. Her personal interests included reading, gardening, travel, interior decorating, and the care and protection of all of God's creatures. She is survived by her husband of 47 years, Franklin T. Olive; by her beloved children: Stephen A. Williams (Nancy), Cynthia Williams (Franz Maritsch), James and Richard Williams, and Susan Monaghan (William); 10 grandchildren: Francis (Catalina), Stephanie, Allison, Andrew, Tyler, and Julia Williams; Emily Crane (James); Caroline Kamm; and Bridget and Elizabeth Monaghan; a great grandchild, Arnold Paul Williams; by her sister, Susan B. Hetherington of Indianapolis; and by two nephews, Robert and William (Jamie) Hetherington. Service is 5:00 pm, Thursday, October 1, 2020 at Fairhaven Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 6557 N. Clinton St., with calling three hours prior beginning at 2:00 pm. Burial in Concordia Cemetery of Indianapolis, IN at 2:00 pm Friday, October 2, 2020. Memorial gifts should be sent to Lutheran Life Villages, Fort Wayne, or to the Alzheimer's Association. Interment will be at Concordia Cemetery, S. Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN.