Help Us Honor the Life of Monique

 

We lost a life-long Pacifican on January 30, 2021, Monique Frances Barr. Monique was very proud of her city. Monique was born September 24, 1962 to George and Diane Barr. She was raised in the supportive community of Desvio Court. She was one of the seven babies known as the “Desvio Court Baby Mafia” as they were all born within several months.

 

A Terra Nova graduate, Monique and her best friend, Lesley Usher, had a dream to explore the United States by driving long-haul trucks.  Toward that dream, Monique became one of the first women to graduate from Skyline College’s Automotive Program and she received her trucking license. Losing her good friend Lesley at a young age to a freak motorcycle accident greatly impacted Monique. She pushed on and worked as a truck driver until an ankle injury ended that career. While raising her baby daughter Lesley, Monique earned an AA from De Anza Community College as a certified physical therapist assistant.

Monique described her daughter, Lesley, as “my crown achievement”. Mother and daughter weathered hard times homeless, and they remained very close. Monique stated how proud she was when Lesley graduated in 2019 from UC Santa Cruz with a major in Psychology.

 

For those who called Monique a friend, we saw her strength, honesty, courage and compassion. Monique was a volunteer, and she gave back. One of her last volunteer efforts was as a member of the Unhoused in Pacifica Task Force - she generously shared information about her family’s homeless experience in hopes it would benefit her entire community.

 

COVID-19 took Monique from us on January 30, 2021. She will be missed by her daughter Lesley Bode and Lesley’s father, Harry Bode Jr. Her sisters Denise and Cindy; and brother Steve as well as her aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends will also miss her dearly. Lesley asks that we keep her mom in our thoughts and prayers. There will be a small family memorial to Monique. The family will host a celebration of her life to be held in the future when it is safer for people to gather.

We are asking our community to come together in honoring Monique while also supporting her daughter Lesley. Lesley is a part-time essential worker at the Boys and Girls Club in Pacifica. She has aspirations of becoming a therapist and is currently applying to graduate schools.

Donations from this GoFundMe will help support the costs of cremation, memorial(s), medical expenses, etc. for Monique and help support Lesley as she prepares for graduate school. Any excess will be given to the Pacifica Resource Center with gratitude, to further their mission of decreasing homelessness.

Housing Video featuring Monique