Mildred Barkhouser

Mildred “Kit” Hoge Whitehurst Barkhouser, age 88, went to be with the Lord on Saturday, July 13, 2024, after a period of declining health. She passed peacefully surrounded by her loving family. Born April 16, 1936 in Danville, VA, she was the daughter of the late James Thomas Whitehurst and Anne French Conway Whitehurst. Kit was predeceased by her beloved husband of 56 years, Richard Glenn Barkhouser. She is survived by one brother, Dr. Arthur Wellington Whitehurst (Patsy) of Durham, NC, and one sister, Anne Aurelia Whitehurst (Dawne) of Ottawa, Canada.

Also surviving are son James Everett Barkhouser (Kristina) of Myrtle Beach, SC; daughter Helen Rhymer Barkhouser Collier (Kent) of Seneca, SC; son Robert Hoge Barkhouser of Parkton, MD; grandchildren Richard Andrew Barkhouser, Jacob Daniel Barkhouser, Hannah Loren Collier, Loren Everett Barkhouser, Charlotte Anne Barkhouser, Sarah Kathryn Barkhouser, Austin Ryan Spitler (Taren), Brianna Spitler Beasley (Cory); great granddaughter Eleanor Rose Beasley; Judy Mills Barkhouser, Malynda (Lynde) Dobler Barkhouser, and four nieces and nephews.

Kit attended Hollins College and graduated from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1958. She then returned to Danville and taught high school before marrying Richard Glenn Barkhouser on June 13, 1959.

Kit was very active with her family, in her church, and in the community she loved. She was a longtime member of Ascension Lutheran Church where she served in numerous capacities before moving with Richard to King’s Grant Retirement Community in Martinsville, VA in 2014. She was a member of the Danville Garden Club, Danville Golf Club, Wednesday Club, Shakespeare Club, and other organizations.

Kit served on the board of the Danville Community College (DCC) Educational Foundation and, with her husband Richard, created the Barkhouser Endowed Scholarship at DCC and later established the Barkhouser Free Enterprise Center.

She was devoted to advancing the work of the Duke University Eye Center where she and Richard were instrumental in the planning and funding of the University’s new Eye Research Institute. They also funded the Barkhouser Glaucoma Research Laboratory, the Barkhouser Clinical Research Unit, and the Richard and Kit Barkhouser Endowment Fund for perpetual support of Glaucoma research within the Duke Department of Ophthalmology.

Kit was a kind and generous soul who loved to spend time with her family, read, play bridge, garden, cook, entertain, and help those in need. She especially loved vacationing at the beach, entertaining and sharing her love of the beach with her family. In words she wrote to her children she stated, “Be comforted in knowing that I have lived a storybook life and that I live in the sure and certain hope of the next life.”

A memorial service will be held in the chapel of King’s Grant Retirement Community in Martinsville, VA at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, July 17, 2024. The family will hold a private burial service.

Memorial donations may be made to God’s Pit Crew, 2499 North Main St, Danville, VA 24540.

Please sign the online guestbook on the Memory Wall at www.townesfuneralhome.com The Barkhouser family has entrusted arrangements to Townes Funeral Home and Crematory, 215 West Main St., Danville, VA, 434-793-1211.