June 12 2019: BARNES, Nora Elizabeth Cusick

Nora Elizabeth Cusick Barnes

Nora Elizabeth Cusick Barnes (also known to family and friends as “Betty”) passed away on June 6, 2019 at MedStar Montgomery General Hospital in Olney, Maryland.  She was 89.  Born November 1, 1929, Nora grew up on the family farm in Oxon Hill, Maryland. At age 17 she was runner-up in a radio contest on the Arthur Godfrey Talent Scout program and was offered a job as the classical singer in the Vaughan Monroe Orchestra. She married Chaloner Monroe Barnes in 1948 and moved back to Oxon Hill where she continued singing, making appearances on radio, television and club dates. Her second career was as a Prince George’s County public schools bus driver for 27 years, retiring in 1991. She is survived by two grown daughters: Deborah Barnes Mahaney and Vanessa Barnes Lawson; three grandchildren: Patrick Michael Mahaney, Kathryn Scarlett Mahaney Campbell and Shea Elizabeth Lawson. In 2016 she welcomed her first great-grandchild, Matthew James Campbell.

A memorial service will be held at the Interfaith Chapel on the grounds of Leisure World in Silver Spring, Maryland on Saturday, July 20, 2019 at 1 p.m.  Nora requested cremation and will be interred later at Linden Heights United Methodist Church Columbarium, in Parkville, Maryland. In lieu of flowers, her wish was to have donations made in her name to the St. Jude Children’s Hospital

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