Kate M. Barker
Born: 30 May 1881
Called as Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency: April 1935
Released: 31 December 1939
Died: 13 February 1972
Called as Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency: April 1935
Released: 31 December 1939
Died: 13 February 1972
Biographical Articles
Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 4
Relief Society Magazine, May 1929, Mrs. Kate Montgomery Barker
Relief Society Magazine, May 1935, Kate Montgomery Barker
Relief Society Magazine, February 1940, Kate M. Barker
Relief Society Magazine, May 1929, Mrs. Kate Montgomery Barker
Relief Society Magazine, May 1935, Kate Montgomery Barker
Relief Society Magazine, February 1940, Kate M. Barker
Jenson, Andrew. "Barker, Kate M." Biographical Encyclopedia. Volume 4. pg. 179.
BARKER, Kate M., a member of the General Board of Relief Society since Feb. 20, 1929, and second counselor in the presidency of that organization since 1935, was born May 30, 1881, at North Ogden, Utah, a daughter of Nathaniel Montgomery and Nancy Clark. She was educated in the public schools, graduated from high school and taught school four years. Previous to this she was president of the 33rd Ward, Salt Lake City, Primary Association for one year, and a member of the Relief Society Board of Liberty Stake for two years. On May 30, 1906, she was married to James L. Barker, head of the Modern Language Department of the University of Utah, and a member of the Deseret Sunday School Union Board. She is the mother of one son and two daughters. With her husband and children, Sister Barker has traveled extensively in the United States and in Europe. Four times she has sojourned in Europe, her residence there covering a period of eight years, during which she studied in Neuchatel, Switzerland, and at the University of Paris. At home she is active in educational work for the Church and State and is an outstanding member of the U. of U. Women's Club.
BARKER, Kate M., a member of the General Board of Relief Society since Feb. 20, 1929, and second counselor in the presidency of that organization since 1935, was born May 30, 1881, at North Ogden, Utah, a daughter of Nathaniel Montgomery and Nancy Clark. She was educated in the public schools, graduated from high school and taught school four years. Previous to this she was president of the 33rd Ward, Salt Lake City, Primary Association for one year, and a member of the Relief Society Board of Liberty Stake for two years. On May 30, 1906, she was married to James L. Barker, head of the Modern Language Department of the University of Utah, and a member of the Deseret Sunday School Union Board. She is the mother of one son and two daughters. With her husband and children, Sister Barker has traveled extensively in the United States and in Europe. Four times she has sojourned in Europe, her residence there covering a period of eight years, during which she studied in Neuchatel, Switzerland, and at the University of Paris. At home she is active in educational work for the Church and State and is an outstanding member of the U. of U. Women's Club.
Reynolds, Alice Louise. "Mrs. Kate Montgomery Barker." Relief Society Magazine. May 1929. pg. 238-241.
Mrs. Kate Montgomery Barker
By Alice Louise Reynolds
Mrs. Kate Montgomery Barker comes to the General Board with a unique background and experience. She is the wife of Professor James L. Barker, head of the Modern Language Department at the University of Utah, and, as such, has shared his valuable experiences abroad. It is probably true that no other man in the Church has devoted as much time to study abroad as Professor Barker, and during part of this time in foreign lands his wife has been with him. She first went to Europe in 1906, the year of their marriage, and since that time has spent seven years in Europe, where she took advantage of opportunity for study, both in the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland, and in the University of Paris, France.
Mrs. Barker is the daughter of Nathaniel Montgomery and Nancy Clark Montgomery, both of Scotch extraction. Montgomery Castle, mentioned by Burns in one of his poems, was the ancestral castle of her father’s people. Also, on her mother’s side, she is connected with the great manufacturers, J. & P. Coates, located at Paisley, Scotland. She was born in North Ogden, Utah, and there she spent her early girlhood days. Her father was a successful farmer, with such a knowledge of law that the people around called him Judge Montgomery. He was a man possessing exceptional powers of analysis, and of a quick and alert mind. Mrs. Barker has inherited her father’s mental alertness. Her mother was a woman of tender nature, kindly in attitude towards those with whom she came in contact, and very much devoted to her home and children. Her home was a center of hospitality, and through many years she made welcome a host of friends. Mrs. Barker has inherited her mother’s tenderness and solicitude for her children; and, with her husband, possesses the spirit of hospitality so apparent in the lives of her father and mother.
After her early training, she entered the Ogden High School. Here her record for scholarship was one of the highest in the school. Her husband often remarks, jokingly, that one thing he has against his wife is that he never could keep up with her in high school. Her grades were always higher than his, so he says. She tells the story of being ill in her district school days, and of going out to meet her sisters returning from school, so anxious was she to know the grade that had been given the pupils. When she asked about them, the answer came, “You got the highest grade in school, except one, and that was James Barker, who received one-half a point more than you.” After graduation from the Ogden High School, she taught school for four years, and was teaching in Logan the year of her marriage, which occurred May 30, 1906.
At that time, Mr. Barker had been teaching foreign language in the Ogden High School, having prepared himself for this work by study in the University of Utah, and a three-year mission that brought him in contact with both French and German. At once they set sail for Europe, as Mr. Barker had in mind college work.
They have three children, two daughters and a son. Nancy, the eldest daughter, is assisting in the Modern Language Department at the University of Utah, teaching French and Spanish, as she pursues her college course. Margaret, who is still in the L. D. S. High School, is also efficient in French; and the youngest member of the family, a son bearing his father’s name, bids fair to maintain the family reputation for linguistic achievements.
Since her marriage, Mrs. Barker has been connected with university circles and has taken advantage of this connection in the college centers in which she has resided. The years 1906 and 190? were spent in Europe, as also were 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927. She knows pre-war and post-war Europe in a way that not many have been privileged to know it. Foreign languages are not usually easy for an American to learn. The United States is so isolated from other countries that the background of its citizens does not afford the opportunities, common in Europe, for acquiring other tongues. Mrs. Barker’s friends have been astonished at the rapidity and accuracy with which she acquired the French language. I do not know that she ever studied it formally, but from her constant contacts with French people, from the companionship of her husband, and from taking note of what he taught the children, she has acquired a reading and speaking knowledge of French that makes her at home among French speaking people; and it enabled her to carry on her work in the universities of Neuchatel and Paris, where practically all the lectures are delivered in French.
Since Mrs. Barker’s return from Europe, she has been active in various literary organizations that have as their object the culture of their members. She is at present a member of the Faculty Women’s Club of the University of Utah, and of the Author’s Club. Since 1927, she has been on the stake board of the Relief Society of Liberty Stake, where, as stake supervisor, she has had the direction of the theology work.
Mrs. Barker is frank and open in her conversation and dealings. She dislikes sham and pretense, and detects it in others, as it were, by instinct. She is a good thinker and expresses herself with clearness, both in her private conversation and in her public utterances. She is intuitively sympathetic and tender towards people who are unfortunate or handicapped. She is of a mental and emotional make-up that naturally brings the best that is in her to the fore, especially for the succor of those who need relief. Tender of heart, keen of mind, and devoted . to persons or causes that she deems worthy, she brings to the great Relief Society cause an acumen of knowledge and a breadth of sympathy that will, at all times, be helpful in furthering its two major objects—relief and education.
Mrs. Kate Montgomery Barker
By Alice Louise Reynolds
Mrs. Kate Montgomery Barker comes to the General Board with a unique background and experience. She is the wife of Professor James L. Barker, head of the Modern Language Department at the University of Utah, and, as such, has shared his valuable experiences abroad. It is probably true that no other man in the Church has devoted as much time to study abroad as Professor Barker, and during part of this time in foreign lands his wife has been with him. She first went to Europe in 1906, the year of their marriage, and since that time has spent seven years in Europe, where she took advantage of opportunity for study, both in the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland, and in the University of Paris, France.
Mrs. Barker is the daughter of Nathaniel Montgomery and Nancy Clark Montgomery, both of Scotch extraction. Montgomery Castle, mentioned by Burns in one of his poems, was the ancestral castle of her father’s people. Also, on her mother’s side, she is connected with the great manufacturers, J. & P. Coates, located at Paisley, Scotland. She was born in North Ogden, Utah, and there she spent her early girlhood days. Her father was a successful farmer, with such a knowledge of law that the people around called him Judge Montgomery. He was a man possessing exceptional powers of analysis, and of a quick and alert mind. Mrs. Barker has inherited her father’s mental alertness. Her mother was a woman of tender nature, kindly in attitude towards those with whom she came in contact, and very much devoted to her home and children. Her home was a center of hospitality, and through many years she made welcome a host of friends. Mrs. Barker has inherited her mother’s tenderness and solicitude for her children; and, with her husband, possesses the spirit of hospitality so apparent in the lives of her father and mother.
After her early training, she entered the Ogden High School. Here her record for scholarship was one of the highest in the school. Her husband often remarks, jokingly, that one thing he has against his wife is that he never could keep up with her in high school. Her grades were always higher than his, so he says. She tells the story of being ill in her district school days, and of going out to meet her sisters returning from school, so anxious was she to know the grade that had been given the pupils. When she asked about them, the answer came, “You got the highest grade in school, except one, and that was James Barker, who received one-half a point more than you.” After graduation from the Ogden High School, she taught school for four years, and was teaching in Logan the year of her marriage, which occurred May 30, 1906.
At that time, Mr. Barker had been teaching foreign language in the Ogden High School, having prepared himself for this work by study in the University of Utah, and a three-year mission that brought him in contact with both French and German. At once they set sail for Europe, as Mr. Barker had in mind college work.
They have three children, two daughters and a son. Nancy, the eldest daughter, is assisting in the Modern Language Department at the University of Utah, teaching French and Spanish, as she pursues her college course. Margaret, who is still in the L. D. S. High School, is also efficient in French; and the youngest member of the family, a son bearing his father’s name, bids fair to maintain the family reputation for linguistic achievements.
Since her marriage, Mrs. Barker has been connected with university circles and has taken advantage of this connection in the college centers in which she has resided. The years 1906 and 190? were spent in Europe, as also were 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927. She knows pre-war and post-war Europe in a way that not many have been privileged to know it. Foreign languages are not usually easy for an American to learn. The United States is so isolated from other countries that the background of its citizens does not afford the opportunities, common in Europe, for acquiring other tongues. Mrs. Barker’s friends have been astonished at the rapidity and accuracy with which she acquired the French language. I do not know that she ever studied it formally, but from her constant contacts with French people, from the companionship of her husband, and from taking note of what he taught the children, she has acquired a reading and speaking knowledge of French that makes her at home among French speaking people; and it enabled her to carry on her work in the universities of Neuchatel and Paris, where practically all the lectures are delivered in French.
Since Mrs. Barker’s return from Europe, she has been active in various literary organizations that have as their object the culture of their members. She is at present a member of the Faculty Women’s Club of the University of Utah, and of the Author’s Club. Since 1927, she has been on the stake board of the Relief Society of Liberty Stake, where, as stake supervisor, she has had the direction of the theology work.
Mrs. Barker is frank and open in her conversation and dealings. She dislikes sham and pretense, and detects it in others, as it were, by instinct. She is a good thinker and expresses herself with clearness, both in her private conversation and in her public utterances. She is intuitively sympathetic and tender towards people who are unfortunate or handicapped. She is of a mental and emotional make-up that naturally brings the best that is in her to the fore, especially for the succor of those who need relief. Tender of heart, keen of mind, and devoted . to persons or causes that she deems worthy, she brings to the great Relief Society cause an acumen of knowledge and a breadth of sympathy that will, at all times, be helpful in furthering its two major objects—relief and education.
Kimball, Mary C. "Kate Montgomery Barker." Relief Society Magazine. May 1935. pg. 266-268.
Kate Montgomery Barker
By Mary C. Kimball
SINCERE, refined, understanding, Kate Montgomery Barker comes to the important position of Second Counselor to President Louise Y. Robison well fitted for her responsibility. To associate with her is an inspiration, to know her is to love her.
She was born in North Ogden and had the privilege of being one of seven children. Three sisters and a brother are living today. She shows many of the excellent characteristics of ' both parents. Her father, a true nobleman, was a successful farmer and was noted for his alertness of mind and his analytical powers. He was four times a member of the Territorial Legislature and was a fine public speaker. It is said, “He never spoke for more than fifteen minutes, but he said much in that time.” Her mother, while quiet, was a very strong character. She was true to every trust. Nothing was too hard if she felt it was right.
JAMES L. BARKER attended the J same grade school as Kate Montgomery. They both attained the highest records in the school for scholarship. He admired the vivacious, winsome girl, and this boy and girl friendship later ripened into love. In her four years at high school Kate’s average scholarship was “A.” She was especially good in mathematics. Her husband tells that one time they both entered an essay contest, but he laughingly says, “She won and received as a prize one of the first collections of books that came to North Ogden as a nucleus for a library.”
As a young girl, Kate took delight in dramatics. Indeed her girlhood dream was to be an actress. Even when young, she was noted for her ability to read well. After graduation from the Ogden High School, she taught for four years and was married on her birthday, May 30, 1906, to James L. Barker.
Two days later they left for Europe and made their first home in Geneva, Switzerland, where they resided for one and a half years. They came home in 1910 but later returned to Europe where they spent three and a half years. They traveled all over Western Europe and on two of their last trips traveled 40,000 miles by auto. These two who are so ideally mated have a common hobby travel. Again and again have they visited Western Europe. While in Europe Mrs. Barker attended the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland, and the University of Paris and many lectures elsewhere.
The marriage of Kate Montgomery and James L. Barker has proven a most happy one. He is as fine a man as she is a woman. They enjoy doing things together. He has proven a wellnigh perfect husband and father. He is such a companion to his son that the boy often says, “Isn’t it fine that Dad and I enjoy the same things.” Professor Barker is head of the Modern Language Department of the University of Utah and a member of the General Board of the Sunday School.
To this couple so happy in their companionship have been born three children. All stand out for intellectual attainments. Nancy is teaching German, French and Spanish in the Weber College. She has her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree. Margaret, now Mrs. Mitchell, is taking her Master’s Degree this year at the University of Utah. Their son, James Montgomery, is in Junior High. Mrs. Barker loves her home. She is a devoted wife and mother and is most solicitous of their welfare. Her husband says she has to know where everyone is every minute of the day and when they will get home. It is the custom of the family that if either husband or children return and find her not there, before they go away again, they leave a note on the mantel telling where they have gone and when they will return. The Barker family life is most beautiful. They all enjoy intellectual pursuits and travel. They can all be ready on a moment’s notice to go anywhere, and they enjoy going together. They cooperate in each other’s work. Sister Barker laughingly says her husband tries everything out on her. If she’s not too dumb to understand, he thinks he can try it on others. He says. “If there is any loophole in my work, Kate always finds it.”
The Barkers ' stand out for their generosity and their unselfish devotion to their friends. Nothing is too much trouble for them if it will bring pleasure or comfort to those they love. When sorrow comes, they are among the first to give comfort and assistance. When they were in Paris, Helen was an American
student there. Her sister died. The Barkers were not intimate acquaintances of the family, but Sister Barker took Helen into her home and helped her through this time of sorrow. Helen’s mother says, “I shall never live long enough to express my gratitude for what this woman, a stranger, did for my daughter.”
Sister Barker was President of the Primary of the 33rd Ward of Liberty Stake for one year and served on the Relief Society Board of that stake for two years as a class leader, and has been an efficient member of the General Board since April, 1929. She takes an active part in University activities and is a member of the Author’s Club.
Mrs. Barker learns readily and has a wonderful memory. Every bit of verse she has ever learned she remembers. She reads extensively, her preference being for biography, autobiography and works on social questions. She also enjoys some fiction. She has no sympathy for the dry scholarship that never gets anywhere.
Mrs. Barker has a hatred of sham. Her associates recognize her ability to think clearly and logically. She is generous and appreciative of the best. She has the judicial point of view, always seeing both sides of a question. She never judges harshly and has a great sympathy for all classes and all conditions. She sees the problems that beset them and hence understands them. She has an appealing quality that draws all people to her.
Kate Montgomery Barker
By Mary C. Kimball
SINCERE, refined, understanding, Kate Montgomery Barker comes to the important position of Second Counselor to President Louise Y. Robison well fitted for her responsibility. To associate with her is an inspiration, to know her is to love her.
She was born in North Ogden and had the privilege of being one of seven children. Three sisters and a brother are living today. She shows many of the excellent characteristics of ' both parents. Her father, a true nobleman, was a successful farmer and was noted for his alertness of mind and his analytical powers. He was four times a member of the Territorial Legislature and was a fine public speaker. It is said, “He never spoke for more than fifteen minutes, but he said much in that time.” Her mother, while quiet, was a very strong character. She was true to every trust. Nothing was too hard if she felt it was right.
JAMES L. BARKER attended the J same grade school as Kate Montgomery. They both attained the highest records in the school for scholarship. He admired the vivacious, winsome girl, and this boy and girl friendship later ripened into love. In her four years at high school Kate’s average scholarship was “A.” She was especially good in mathematics. Her husband tells that one time they both entered an essay contest, but he laughingly says, “She won and received as a prize one of the first collections of books that came to North Ogden as a nucleus for a library.”
As a young girl, Kate took delight in dramatics. Indeed her girlhood dream was to be an actress. Even when young, she was noted for her ability to read well. After graduation from the Ogden High School, she taught for four years and was married on her birthday, May 30, 1906, to James L. Barker.
Two days later they left for Europe and made their first home in Geneva, Switzerland, where they resided for one and a half years. They came home in 1910 but later returned to Europe where they spent three and a half years. They traveled all over Western Europe and on two of their last trips traveled 40,000 miles by auto. These two who are so ideally mated have a common hobby travel. Again and again have they visited Western Europe. While in Europe Mrs. Barker attended the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland, and the University of Paris and many lectures elsewhere.
The marriage of Kate Montgomery and James L. Barker has proven a most happy one. He is as fine a man as she is a woman. They enjoy doing things together. He has proven a wellnigh perfect husband and father. He is such a companion to his son that the boy often says, “Isn’t it fine that Dad and I enjoy the same things.” Professor Barker is head of the Modern Language Department of the University of Utah and a member of the General Board of the Sunday School.
To this couple so happy in their companionship have been born three children. All stand out for intellectual attainments. Nancy is teaching German, French and Spanish in the Weber College. She has her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree. Margaret, now Mrs. Mitchell, is taking her Master’s Degree this year at the University of Utah. Their son, James Montgomery, is in Junior High. Mrs. Barker loves her home. She is a devoted wife and mother and is most solicitous of their welfare. Her husband says she has to know where everyone is every minute of the day and when they will get home. It is the custom of the family that if either husband or children return and find her not there, before they go away again, they leave a note on the mantel telling where they have gone and when they will return. The Barker family life is most beautiful. They all enjoy intellectual pursuits and travel. They can all be ready on a moment’s notice to go anywhere, and they enjoy going together. They cooperate in each other’s work. Sister Barker laughingly says her husband tries everything out on her. If she’s not too dumb to understand, he thinks he can try it on others. He says. “If there is any loophole in my work, Kate always finds it.”
The Barkers ' stand out for their generosity and their unselfish devotion to their friends. Nothing is too much trouble for them if it will bring pleasure or comfort to those they love. When sorrow comes, they are among the first to give comfort and assistance. When they were in Paris, Helen was an American
student there. Her sister died. The Barkers were not intimate acquaintances of the family, but Sister Barker took Helen into her home and helped her through this time of sorrow. Helen’s mother says, “I shall never live long enough to express my gratitude for what this woman, a stranger, did for my daughter.”
Sister Barker was President of the Primary of the 33rd Ward of Liberty Stake for one year and served on the Relief Society Board of that stake for two years as a class leader, and has been an efficient member of the General Board since April, 1929. She takes an active part in University activities and is a member of the Author’s Club.
Mrs. Barker learns readily and has a wonderful memory. Every bit of verse she has ever learned she remembers. She reads extensively, her preference being for biography, autobiography and works on social questions. She also enjoys some fiction. She has no sympathy for the dry scholarship that never gets anywhere.
Mrs. Barker has a hatred of sham. Her associates recognize her ability to think clearly and logically. She is generous and appreciative of the best. She has the judicial point of view, always seeing both sides of a question. She never judges harshly and has a great sympathy for all classes and all conditions. She sees the problems that beset them and hence understands them. She has an appealing quality that draws all people to her.
Spafford, Belle S. "Kate M. Barker." Relief Society Magazine. February 1940. pg. 81-83.
Kate M. Barker
General Board Member 1929-1935, Counselor to President Louise Y. Robison 1935-1939
By Belle S. Spafford
To serve a cause dear to one and to serve effectively bring joy and satisfaction. Such has been the experience of Kate Montgomery Barker in her Relief Society activities. Always ready and willing to go wherever needed, sparing no personal effort, giving unstintingly of herself and her time, Sister Barker has advanced the work of Relief Society and endeared herself to Relief Society membership everywhere.
Sister Barker came to the General Board from the Liberty Stake Board where she served as Theological class leader. Having had opportunities for travel and education privileged to few, she brought to the position many qualifications which have enabled her to serve with efficiency. The wife of James L. Barker, head of the Modem Language Department of the University of Utah, she has been closely connected with university circles and has taken advantage of the many educational opportunities thus afforded her. With her husband she spent a number of years in Europe where she studied at the Universities of Neuchatel and Paris. Her experiences in Europe gave her breadth of vision and an understanding of people that have been very valuable in her work as a Relief Society leader.
In April, 1935, when called to be counselor to President Louise Y. Robison, it was but natural to assign to her as her special division of responsibility the educational work of the Society. Her rich educational background, her knowledge of teaching technique and her keen appreciation of the great opportunities of the Organization to elevate and advance the women of the Church through its educational program made her influential in maintaining well chosen courses of study and in improving teaching standards generally. Sister Barker has been alert to the educational interests and needs of women, and has worked intimately with the various educational committees of the General Board, suggesting, counseling and directing. She has been tireless in her efforts to aid stake and ward class leaders through class leader departments at Conference. Conventions and through providing special lesson outlines, most of which she has prepared herself. The response from the stakes indicate the appreciation of class leaders for the assistance given.
Perhaps no phase of Relief Society work has challenged the interest and ability of Sister Barker more than Mormon Handicraft. While traveling abroad, her innate love of beauty and fine workmanship drew her frequently to the little European gift shops displaying the world's finest handicrafts. She spent hours chatting with interesting people, learning the importance of creative work in the life of the average individual. She saw the joy that comes when creative hands make objects of daily use beautiful. When “Mormon Handicraft'' was conceived, she recognized the fact that within our Church are to be found the culture and skills of all nations; she appreciated the potentialities for developing a great handicraft movement. The ideals that have guided Mormon Handicraft under her direction as chairman of the Mormon Handicraft Committee have been to preserve the skills of our people, to stimulate distinctive creative work as a form of self-expression and a source of individual happiness, to encourage the production of articles of such perfection of workmanship that they would have enduring worth, and at the same time to provide a means whereby articles might be offered to the public in a practical way. Mormon Handicraft has increased the joy, renewed the courage, and supplemented the incomes of women without taking them from their homes.
While directly responsible for the educational work of the Society, Sister Barker has also been active in the welfare program. Her tender nature has made her sympathetic toward the problems of humankind. In 1938, she represented the Relief Society at the National Conference of Social Work. Her keen intellect, her measured judgment, her breadth of vision have made her a valuable member of the Church Welfare Committee. She has also been a member of the Deseret Clothing Committee.
Sister Barker has been intensely interested in the Alcohol Education program of the Church, serving as a member of the General Church Committee.
She has been active in many movements for the welfare and cultural development of women, having been a member of the first State Cancer Control Committee, the University Women, and the Ladies' Literary Club; at the present time she is an active member of the Authors' Club.
During her incumbency as a member of the General Board, Sister Barker has traveled extensively among the stakes and missions of the Church. Her interest has been equally great in all wards and branches. Her spirituality, humility, and earnest desire to promote the welfare of the women of the Church has been felt wherever she has visited. She has a strong testimony of the Gospel based upon an intelligent understanding of its principles. In the class room and from the pulpit she has taught the Gospel with clarity and conviction. Her testimony has strengthened the testimony of many. Her public addresses have been full of workable suggestions as well as being inspirational and uplifting. For over two and one-half years she prepared monthly bulletins for the missions, interpreting the work of Relief Society.
Though endowed with unusual native ability strengthened by extensive training, every assignment has meant to her careful and intensive immediate preparation.
With all her Church activity, Sister Barker has neglected no side of her home life. Indebted to her father, Nathaniel Montgomery, for her keen intellect, sound judgment and pronounced loyalties, she owes to her mother, Nancy Clark Montgomery, her love of home and her homemaking inclinations. An ideal wife and mother, the Barker home is noted for its spirit of unity. The Barkers work together and play together. Professor Barker, Nance, Margaret and James have wholeheartedly supported Sister Barker in all of her Relief Society activities.
As leader, teacher, friend, Sister Barker's contributions to the strength of Relief Society have been of inestimable worth.
Kate M. Barker
General Board Member 1929-1935, Counselor to President Louise Y. Robison 1935-1939
By Belle S. Spafford
To serve a cause dear to one and to serve effectively bring joy and satisfaction. Such has been the experience of Kate Montgomery Barker in her Relief Society activities. Always ready and willing to go wherever needed, sparing no personal effort, giving unstintingly of herself and her time, Sister Barker has advanced the work of Relief Society and endeared herself to Relief Society membership everywhere.
Sister Barker came to the General Board from the Liberty Stake Board where she served as Theological class leader. Having had opportunities for travel and education privileged to few, she brought to the position many qualifications which have enabled her to serve with efficiency. The wife of James L. Barker, head of the Modem Language Department of the University of Utah, she has been closely connected with university circles and has taken advantage of the many educational opportunities thus afforded her. With her husband she spent a number of years in Europe where she studied at the Universities of Neuchatel and Paris. Her experiences in Europe gave her breadth of vision and an understanding of people that have been very valuable in her work as a Relief Society leader.
In April, 1935, when called to be counselor to President Louise Y. Robison, it was but natural to assign to her as her special division of responsibility the educational work of the Society. Her rich educational background, her knowledge of teaching technique and her keen appreciation of the great opportunities of the Organization to elevate and advance the women of the Church through its educational program made her influential in maintaining well chosen courses of study and in improving teaching standards generally. Sister Barker has been alert to the educational interests and needs of women, and has worked intimately with the various educational committees of the General Board, suggesting, counseling and directing. She has been tireless in her efforts to aid stake and ward class leaders through class leader departments at Conference. Conventions and through providing special lesson outlines, most of which she has prepared herself. The response from the stakes indicate the appreciation of class leaders for the assistance given.
Perhaps no phase of Relief Society work has challenged the interest and ability of Sister Barker more than Mormon Handicraft. While traveling abroad, her innate love of beauty and fine workmanship drew her frequently to the little European gift shops displaying the world's finest handicrafts. She spent hours chatting with interesting people, learning the importance of creative work in the life of the average individual. She saw the joy that comes when creative hands make objects of daily use beautiful. When “Mormon Handicraft'' was conceived, she recognized the fact that within our Church are to be found the culture and skills of all nations; she appreciated the potentialities for developing a great handicraft movement. The ideals that have guided Mormon Handicraft under her direction as chairman of the Mormon Handicraft Committee have been to preserve the skills of our people, to stimulate distinctive creative work as a form of self-expression and a source of individual happiness, to encourage the production of articles of such perfection of workmanship that they would have enduring worth, and at the same time to provide a means whereby articles might be offered to the public in a practical way. Mormon Handicraft has increased the joy, renewed the courage, and supplemented the incomes of women without taking them from their homes.
While directly responsible for the educational work of the Society, Sister Barker has also been active in the welfare program. Her tender nature has made her sympathetic toward the problems of humankind. In 1938, she represented the Relief Society at the National Conference of Social Work. Her keen intellect, her measured judgment, her breadth of vision have made her a valuable member of the Church Welfare Committee. She has also been a member of the Deseret Clothing Committee.
Sister Barker has been intensely interested in the Alcohol Education program of the Church, serving as a member of the General Church Committee.
She has been active in many movements for the welfare and cultural development of women, having been a member of the first State Cancer Control Committee, the University Women, and the Ladies' Literary Club; at the present time she is an active member of the Authors' Club.
During her incumbency as a member of the General Board, Sister Barker has traveled extensively among the stakes and missions of the Church. Her interest has been equally great in all wards and branches. Her spirituality, humility, and earnest desire to promote the welfare of the women of the Church has been felt wherever she has visited. She has a strong testimony of the Gospel based upon an intelligent understanding of its principles. In the class room and from the pulpit she has taught the Gospel with clarity and conviction. Her testimony has strengthened the testimony of many. Her public addresses have been full of workable suggestions as well as being inspirational and uplifting. For over two and one-half years she prepared monthly bulletins for the missions, interpreting the work of Relief Society.
Though endowed with unusual native ability strengthened by extensive training, every assignment has meant to her careful and intensive immediate preparation.
With all her Church activity, Sister Barker has neglected no side of her home life. Indebted to her father, Nathaniel Montgomery, for her keen intellect, sound judgment and pronounced loyalties, she owes to her mother, Nancy Clark Montgomery, her love of home and her homemaking inclinations. An ideal wife and mother, the Barker home is noted for its spirit of unity. The Barkers work together and play together. Professor Barker, Nance, Margaret and James have wholeheartedly supported Sister Barker in all of her Relief Society activities.
As leader, teacher, friend, Sister Barker's contributions to the strength of Relief Society have been of inestimable worth.