Barbara Jean (McDermott) Sibley, our family’s forever example of building a life of abundance and love through determination, perseverance and hard work, passed away at Heritage Hospice on January 6, 2025 after braving and beating uterine cancer but ultimately succumbing to the side effects of chemotherapy.

Barbara Jean was born in St. Francisville, Louisiana to her mother, Eloise McDermott and father, Hallie Johnson. She was raised there until she was moved to New Roads, Louisiana as a foster child. After graduating from Rosenwald Sr. High School in 1966 and completing beauty school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she moved to New Orleans, Louisiana.

When her mother died at the young age of 42, Barbara became guardian and mother-figure to her younger siblings and raised them as well as her daughters. In 1978, she married the love of her life, Johnny Sibley.

Barbara started her working years in dry cleaners and sewing factories in New Orleans in the 70s and 80s. But, it was taking a chance on herself as an entrepreneur, with the support of her husband, Johnny, that changed the financial trajectory of her family’s life. She opened BJ’s Hair Care and Nails in 1988. “The Shop,” as it was called, showed her circle and community that it was possible to continue the legacy of Black women entrepreneurs taking care of our hair. She was also the family foundation that showed future generations what it looks like to start and build your own business. At the same time she was building a business, she was the glue that kept her family together. Her and Johnny’s home was the gathering place for family and friends alike. On any given weekend, they were providing a good time to be had by all. With Johnny on the grill and Barbara and her best friends in the kitchen, while the music soundtracked the scene, they fed their extended family all the good eats and life lessons that could fit in the time they had together.

By the mid-90s, Barbara and Johnny were looking for a fresh start after burnout from business ownership for her and challenges in her husband finding a trucking job that provided insurance for the family. That prompted their 1995 move to metro-Atlanta with their middle daughter, Rochelle, who had just graduated college at the University of Notre Dame. The Sibleys would move to the same town where their oldest daughter, Staci, was already living and join other family members who had made the move to the Atlanta area. Their youngest daughter, Akia, was still a senior in high school when they initially moved. She later joined the family in Atlanta where she attended and eventually graduated from Morris Brown College. 

After a few short years in Jonesboro, Georgia, the Sibleys bought a home in Fayetteville, Georgia. She remained in the family home until 2016 when health challenges required she move to a senior living community. She continued to live in Fayetteville until the last three months of her life, when she moved with her daughter, Rochelle.

Her years in Georgia were focused on being a present and active mother and grandmother. Helping her daughters to navigate adulthood and motherhood of her grandchildren, she was a steady guide and support. She and her great love, Johnny, continued their working years. He drove trucks until a battle with colon cancer took his life and Barbara worked in customer service at Walmart and Sam’s before retiring. She also continued the tradition she created of gathering her family for meals. Birthdays, holidays, Sundays, she made soul food Sundays a reality for family and friends.

Throughout her life, she experienced health struggles that showed her faith and fighting spirit. As a young woman, she addressed her mental health needs and managed her depression, anxiety and panic attacks throughout her life. In midlife, she successfully battled and survived breast cancer. She later experienced strokes. She faced each challenge head on and declared God’s covering over the situation, no matter what the health challenge presented. At 76, she did the same when she learned she had uterine cancer. And although the radiation and chemotherapy treatments were brutal, her strength, faith and resilience never wavered.

Her life is the example she wanted to set for her family. Her greatest wish, she would say, is to make sure her girls could take care of themselves. She’s shown us the way. She’s given us her light. And, she will continue to guide.

She is survived by her loving daughters, Staci Williams, Rochelle Valsaint and Akia Sibley; her siblings Lionel Bailey, Edna Lenoir, Henry Bailey, Marion Weber and Stephanie Sanders. Her legacy lives on in her grandchildren, Kailyn Jones, Jarrid Williams, Alacia Williams, Gabrielle Valsaint, Jonathan Valsaint, Kaiya Sibley-Clark and Nadia Pickett; her great-grandchildren, Jaidyn Jones, D’Aire Holland, Dream Holland, Nassir Benjamin, Nailah Benjamin and Kacee Graves.

She also leaves behind a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, loved ones and friends who cherished her.

She is predeceased by her beloved husband Johnny Sibley; her mother, Eloise Emery, her father Hallie Johnson; her siblings Louis McDermott, Dan McDermott, Delores Livas Paige, Berniece McFloyd, Roy Bailey, Edward McDermott, Tommy McDermott.

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