Barbara Towles Kean, 90, passed away peacefully at her home at Morningstar Assisted Living on August 17, 2026 following a lengthy illness.
Barbara was born on June 3, 1936 in St. Louis MO, the daughter of Dr. And Mrs. H.M. Towles. When she was a child, she and her parents moved to the Pikes Peak Region. She graduated from Manitou Springs High School in 1954 and for a time worked as a clerk in the ID Bureau at CSPD, handling various records. She then married her first husband, Lt. Col. Thomas S. (Stan) Jones III, an officer in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, and they became the parents of two children, Linda and Tom. Following Col. Jones’ untimely passing while stationed in Alaska in 1972, she and her children relocated to Colorado Springs to be close to her parents. During her activities as a volunteer for the Episcopal Church, she met another volunteer and recent widower, Col. Marshall P. Kean Jr., U.S. Army (air defense artillery), retired. They married in June 1974 and together built and nurtured a blended family with five children from their combined previous marriages. Barbara enjoyed a wide variety of pastimes and hobbies and of particular note was her love of various types of sewing and needlework at which she was creative and singularly gifted. She remained a devoted member and volunteer for the Episcopal Church and was a long-term member of the St. Michael’s Church Altar Guild and volunteer for the Thrift House of the Episcopal Churchwomen. She became an enthusiastic stamp collector and was both a founder and early president of the Pikes Peak Genealogical Society. For several years she collected Depression era glassware and antique bottles, both interests sparked by her numerous shopping trips to local flea markets with her husband, Marsh Kean. Barbara also loved western travel and camping trips which she organized with her cousin, Joanna Rutter of Portland, OR. Following the death of Marsh Kean in 2001, she reestablished a relationship with a friend from her high school years, Tom Jones (aka “Mr. Coffee”) and together they enjoyed a great companionship in their later years that lasted until Tom’s passing. Barbara was predeceased by her parents; her first husband, Stan Jones; her second husband, Marsh Kean; her later-life companion Tom Jones; a daughter, Carol H. Kelley; and a granddaughter, The Rev. Melissa L. Kean. She is survived by her daughter, Linda K. Jones, sons Thomas S. Jones IV (Karrie), Marshall P. Kean III, and Robert B. Kean (Linda) and a son-in-law, Kent Kelley. Additionally, she is survived by seven grandchildren, Thomas S. Jones V (Tara), Tyler A. Jones (Jori), Kendra Cabot (Breck), Samuel B. Berkeland, Lt. Col. Christopher R. Kean, USAF (Meggie), Kristin K. Funk (Sheldon), Ryan Kelley and eight great-grandchildren.
Services will be held at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 7400 Tudor Road, Colorado Springs on Saturday, August 29, 2026 at 2:00 PM with interment at St. Michael’s following the service.
Those wishing to make charitable donations in lieu of flowers are encouraged to make a gift in Barbara’s honor to one of the following charities that provides food to those in need:
Care and Share
2605 Preamble Pt.
Colorado Springs, CO 80915
Northern Churches Cares
4210 Austin Bluffs Parkway
Colorado Springs, CO 80918
St. Andrew’s Community Center,
P.O. Box 467
Manitou Springs, CO 80829
