Barbara Ann Lawrence McKenzie

Our sweet, loving mother, Barbara Ann Lawrence McKenzie went to be with her Lord and Savior on Wednesday, January 29, 2025. She is walking the streets of gold with Daddy and Jesus.

Barbara Ann was always the epitome of a Southern lady. She spent her life making ours better. She was a wonderful wife, mother, and Memaw. Barbara Ann was known for her loving spirit and kindness. Everyone was welcome in her home and many teenagers passed through her doors. Even as she battled with dementia she never lost her kind personality which was a blessing to her family. 

Barbara Ann was born on June 21, 1928, in Mooringsport, Louisiana to Richard Barton Lawrence and Reginald Lampman Lawrence. Her grandfather, Dr. Paul Lawrence, the doctor in Mooringsport, delivered her into this world. Barbara Ann attended school in Mooringsport until the family moved to Broadmoor in Shreveport. She was a 1945 graduate of C.E. Byrd High School. After graduation, Barbara Ann worked for The Shreveport Times. After the war, she met the love of her life, our Dad, Lawrence (Mac) McKenzie, Jr. They married on February 15, 1947, and she became a military wife. Mac and Barbara Ann would spend the next 20-plus years in the United States Army traveling the world which would include Japan during the occupation after WWII, Hawaii when it became a state, Bangkok Thailand during the Vietnam War, and many other army posts in the United States. 

Barbara Ann was close to her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She was faithful to pray for her children and family members. Many of them came to know the Lord thanks to her prayers. Her faith in Jesus comforted her throughout her life, especially in the years of her illness.

Left to cherish her memory are her children, Lawrence S. ‘Buster’ McKenzie III and wife, Orlena; Annette Williford; and Brenda McKenzie; her grandchildren, Katie Crawford, Harlie O’Neal, Joey Clayton Cook, Darla Coile, Brooke Deaton, Megan Campbell, Jordan McKenzie, Haley Welling, and great-grandchildren, Kourtney, Maggie, Alyssa, Madilyn, Karlie, Brenden, Aiden, Makayla, Darvin, Jayden, Rylee, Cole, Wyatt, Chase, Remi, Mac, and Ryver and great-great-grandchildren, Adeline, Kayleigh, Kane, Karson, Lorrie, Elliette, and Knox.

Barbara Ann was preceded in death by her husband of 69 years, Lawrence S. (Mac) McKenzie, Jr.; her parents, and stepmother, Frances Lawrence; daughter, Michelle McKenzie; granddaughter, Amanda Byrd; her grandparents, Dr. Paul and Kate Lawrence; her special aunt, Marjory Lawrence; her sister, Paula Jean Krause; sons-in-law, Richard Williford, Charles “Bo” Vailes, Darvin Campbell, James McDuff, and Mark Sinclair.

The family is grateful for the loving care Barbara Ann received from the staff at The Blake, Amedysis Hospice care team, and from the Elite caregivers, especially Phyllis Arkansas, Henrietta Gibson, Tracy Richardson, and Trelicia Combs who were with her during these last difficult years.

The visitation will be held at 10:00 a.m., followed by a funeral service at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 6, 2025, at Kilpatrick’s Rose-Neath Funeral Home in Bossier City, Louisiana. Interment will be directly following the service at 12:30 p.m. at the Hill Crest Memorial Park Cemetery. In Haughton, Louisiana. Officiating the service will be Reverend James Gstohl, Chaplain for Amedysis Hospice and Pastor of Tower Baptist Church, Mooringsport, Louisiana.

Pallbearers will be Harlie O’Neal, Joey Clayton Cook, Jordan McKenzie, Darvin Watts, Brenden Deaton, Michael Coile, and Jeff Crawford.