Tallowood Talking

Barbara J and her late husband, Dan

A true Tallowood icon is being honored Sunday night. 

Barbara Justman, or “Barbara J.” as everyone calls her, is retiring as director of Tallowood’s food services.  It is where she has been involved in the preparation of untold thousands of meals for the past 35 years.

Her retirement is effective January 15 and she will be honored at a reception Sunday evening following worship.

This is a lady who is an absolutely perfect model of the servant heart described by Christ.  Rare is the day she is not at the church, “checking on something,” as she calls it. 

Weddings, funerals, anniversaries, special events, lunches with the pastor gatherings, parties, festivals, musical events, etc., etc., are where she and her team of volunteers shine.  Many have served with her for decades.

Barbara J’s service began shortly after she and her late husband, Dan, joined Tallowood in 1968.  A home economics graduate from Baylor, Barbara started by helping in the church kitchen area.  At that time, food service management fell within the responsibilities of the church’s maintenance supervisor.

In 1982, he asked her to take responsibility for directing food services “until they found someone,” she recalls.  It was supposed to be a 30 hour per week, “part time” job, but it always required 60 hours to do.  It has had its highs, such as the many parties she and her team have worked, and at least one low, such as the Wednesday evening when the cart hit a rough spot in the sidewalk, and all of the spaghetti sauce for dinner hit the ground.

What happened after that?  “We quickly cooked a lot of hamburgers,” she laughed.

In the mid-1990’s Barbara and her staff prepared meals for 450 people on an average Wednesday evening.  Currently the number is about 250.  “There are so many events drawing our young families away,” she laments.  “So many ball games.”

The fare has changed, as well.  Early on, the meals consisted of “big old rolls, chicken fried steak and a lot of fried foods.”  

Barbara J (left) with some of the volunteers with whom she has served Tallowood for more than three decades

She says she has loved the job, but it has consumed most of her life, especially during the Christmas season, when there were so many events that she rarely had time to shop for gifts for her family of two daughters, a son, and five grandchildren.

“It’s just impossible to prepare for Christmas at home,” she says.  “There is no time.”

But she has absolutely no complaints.  “It has been a journey of joy,” she says, eyes sparkling as she recalls the years she and her team have served families in joy and in sorrow.  “Especially in funerals, when you get so close to families, you feel like you are one of them,” she says. 

Next July, Barbara will be 80.  “I thought I would be doing this job until Jesus came, but it’s time to step aside,” she says.  “This is such a loving congregation, and so many thank us for what we do.  I am going to be lost for a while, but I’ll be here, just not near the kitchen.”

 A search is underway for a fulltime chef, who will oversee food preparation, and Jan Smith will manage the administration of Tallowood’s food services. 

Asked for one food preparation tip to pass on from her vast experience, Barbara emphatically and immediately responded “Never double salt.”