Eleanor Carol Leavell Barr

ELEANOR CAROL LEAVELL BARR, b. July 7, 1980 – d. June 16, 2020

Eleanor Carol Leavell Barr, a beautiful, loving, kind, passionate and devoted wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend, passed into heaven on Tuesday, June 16, 2020 at the age of 39.  

At a young age, Carol quickly became a natural leader with a warm, genuine smile, a magnetic personality and a gift for positivity.  A natural athlete, Carol participated on the cheerleading team at Georgetown Middle School, and later committed her talents as a member of the Tennis Team and as captain of the Dance Team at Scott County High School.  She excelled in both academics and extracurricular activities in high school, graduating from the Class of 1998 with high grades, as Senior Class Officer on the Student Council, President of the Pep Club, member of the Yearbook Staff, and with prestigious inductions into both the Beta Club and the National Honor Society.  

Carol continued her academic success at the University of Kentucky, earning a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Communications in 2002.  She was a proud member of Delta Delta Delta sorority where she made treasured and lifelong friends, and served as Recruitment Chair and President of the Panhellenic Council.

Carol was professionally accomplished, earning numerous awards and promotions during a sustained and successful career in sales at Pfizer.  Over the years, she earned a reputation as a hard worker, a good team player, and a creative and valuable contributor to the enterprise.  Carol was highly respected by her colleagues, managers and the healthcare professionals she served.

Carol also served a productive term as Executive Director of the Henry Clay Center for Statesmanship, where she worked closely with the Board of Directors to advance the organization’s mission, earning yet again the respect and admiration of all those with whom she worked.  In recent years, Carol also volunteered her time with the Lexington Junior League and the University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information National Advisory Board.

Carol Barr was an organized planner, list-maker, “go getter” and got things done.  Her external beauty was unsurpassed, but her inner beauty, passion, giving attitude, intelligence and great sense of humor were her most attractive qualities.  She was well-known for an amazing, radiant smile that would light up any room.

Carol was a best and loyal friend, tireless advocate and true life partner in every way to her husband Andy, to whom she married on June 21, 2008 and gave unending, selfless love and support throughout their 12 years of marriage.  Carol herself was fiercely patriotic, felt a higher calling to serve her country, and believed firmly in the greatness of America.  No one could have ever asked for a better spouse.

Carol was a proud Kentuckian and celebrated with vigor and passion all things Kentuckians hold dear including horseracing, the Kentucky Derby, and the University of Kentucky football and basketball.  She was a voracious reader, a great cook, a lover of meals with family and friends and a skilled interior decorator with a genuine, authentic taste for creating a warm and inviting home for her family.

As a lifelong Christian, active in her youth group and later in her church life, Carol had a deep and abiding faith in God and made an early commitment to Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.  She lived out that commitment every day of her life, exhibiting strong faith through the Golden Rule, always considering the needs of others ahead of her own.

Above all, Carol was most proud of her greatest and most lasting legacy as the “best mother in the world” to her two loving and devoted daughters, Eleanor and Mary Clay, through whom she will continue to live, love and serve the world.  Carol absolutely adored her children, the greatest source of joy, laughter and love in her life, and she made them and her husband her number one priority always.

She will be loved always and survived by her husband Andy, daughters Eleanor and Mary Clay, mother Eleanor (Barry) Ratliff, father Woodie Leavell, brother Clay (Sarah) Leavell, step-brother Mark (Natasha) Hurst, step-brothers and sister Todd, Nicole and Chad (Kassandra) Ratliff, father-in-law and mother-in-law Garland and Donna Barr, sister-in-law Emily (Daniel) Richards, brother-in-law Peter (Colleen) Barr, and many nieces and nephews including Gray, Ashby, and Abbott Leavell, Freeman and Patton Hurst, Maggie Richards, Bobby Barr, and Wilson and Mary Martin Hampton.  She was preceded in death by her grandparents Mary and Joseph Gray, Carolyn and Ben Leavell and step-mother Marsha Leavell.

A visitation will be held at Christ Church Cathedral, 166 Market Street, Lexington, Kentucky on Sunday, June 21, 2020, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.  Funeral services will be held at Southland Christian Church, Lexington Campus, 2349 Richmond Road, Lexington, Kentucky on Monday, June 22, 2020 at 11 a.m., with a private family burial at the Lexington Cemetery to follow.

Due to COVID-19, the family wants you to know that social distancing, masks and other standards of protection will be required at both visitation and the service.  There will be live streaming of the funeral service on Monday at https://youtu.be/qb5hTsfUvWk for those who feel uncomfortable or at risk of attending.

Friends and admirers can remember Carol with contributions to The American Heart Association, 354 Waller Ave. #110, Lexington, Kentucky 40504.

Remember friends.... that “Life is short and we do not have much time to gladden the hearts of those who travel the way with us.  So be swift to love and make haste to be kind.”