Eleanor Leilani Barlow

Eleanor Leilani BarlowJanuary 14, 1931 – June 5, 2025

Eleanor Leilani Barlow of Escalante, Utah passed away on June 5, 2025, in Temecula, California where she had been living to be closer to family. She was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on January 14, 1931. She was 94 years old.

She spent her early childhood growing up on the island of Kauai until the family moved to the mainland and settled in San Pedro, California. In high school, she was a lifeguard at the city pool during summer months; and also swam in an aquacade made popular by Esther Williams and Hollywood.

Lani attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, earning her undergraduate degree and teaching credentials. There she met her future husband and the love of her life, Al Barlow. As the story goes, Lani was coaxed to sit down at one of many card tables set up in the college commons to play Bridge. Across from her sat a handsome young man, who by the end of the game found the courage to ask her to the upcoming fraternity sorority dance. She said yes. That’s when Al stood up and reached for his crutches with a huge grin. Lani realized at that moment that her future dance partner’s leg was in a cast, but she did not back out. Lani and Al were married on March 28, 1953. From that moment on, the two of them were inseparable.

They attended Thunderbird in Arizona earning their master’s degrees. They traveled to Mexico and South America, living in Mexico City and Guayaquil, Ecuador. Upon returning to the states, Lani began a career as a first-grade teacher. She taught countless children how to read and write over the course of the next thirty plus years. She also became the author of several Insta Center books created with a fellow teacher.

After retirement, Lani and Al moved to their beloved Escalante, Utah to begin the next chapter of their lives. To the amazement of their family, they built and remodeled not just one, but two houses, well into their late seventies. In Escalante, Lani was truly able to enjoy her favorite hobbies: gardening, canning, bread baking and crafting. Lani treasured the friendships that she and Al made during their time in Escalante.

Leilani was preceded in death by her husband of 58 years, Almus Conley Barlow, and her father Commander Lloyd Blake Kennedy, and her mother Eleanor Margaret Winter Kennedy of San Pedro, California.

Lani leaves behind a brother, George Blake Kennedy and sister-in-law Wilma Jean Morrison Kennedy of Lompoc, California; their two sons John and Matthew, their wives and families.. She will be greatly missed by her three children: Pamela Gaye Barlow Thayer, Steven Conley Barlow, and Sandra Lynn Barlow Martin; two sons-in-law, Kenn Thayer and Aaron Eugene Martin; three amazing granddaughters; Kendall Marie Barlow, Lindsey Michelle Thayer, and Rachel Erin Thayer; and a great-grandson, Conley Stuart Edwards.

Graveside services will be Saturday, June 21, 2025 at 10:00 am in the Escalante Cemetery. Funeral Directors, Magleby Mortuary, Richfield, Salina and Manti. Online guestbook www.maglebymortuary.com