Jane Frances (Swindell) Barringer

Jane Frances Swindell Barringer of 490 Barringer Road, Sanford, NC passed away at home on Sunday, July 6,2025.  She was born on February 2, 1929, to Alma Hayman and Lindsey Swindell of Elizabeth City, in Pasquotank County, NC.  She graduated from Elizabeth City High School in 1947, where she was a five-year member of the marching band. She graduated from the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina in 1951 with a degree in History, and came to Sanford the same year to teach history at Sanford High School. Jane Swindell married Paul Jehu Barringer, Jr of Sanford in 1956, and in 1960 they renovated Bridge Road Farm in the Deep River section of Lee County, where they raised their family.

Mrs. Barringer was a lifelong Methodist and member of Saint Luke United Methodist Church. She was a dedicated volunteer for decades in many local organizations, especially the Railroad House Historical Association, Girl Scouts USA/Pines of Carolina Council, Friends of Libraries (local, state and national level), the Lee County Arts Center, and the McSwain Center. She worked as a docent for Native American culture section of the NC Museum of History from 1999 to 2020. She was the Lee County Citizen of the Year in 1982. Jane was a founding member of the Pickwick Papers Literary Club in Sanford (1960-present), as well as an avid bridge player.  All her life, Jane Barringer was a keen student of all aspects of North Carolina history and architecture, especially from the colonial and Revolutionary periods, and visited countless sites of historical note in the company of her family and friends. She was a Girl Scout leader from 1970 to 2017.  Her favorite area was the program for older girls, and more of "Mrs. B's Girls" earned the Gold Award, the highest honor in the Scouting program, than in any other troop in central North Carolina at the time.

Jane Barringer was preceded in death by her husband Paul Jehu Barringer Jr in 1988. She is survived by her sister, Elizabeth Swindell Brannon (Robert) of Waynesville, NC.  Jane Barringer is also survived by her three children: Sallie Barringer (Brad Scharlott), Mary Womble Barringer Gerdes (Philipp), and Paul Jehu Barringer III (Marcea Hosay), as well as her seven grandchildren: Will Scharlott, Leah Scharlott, Paul Jehu Barringer IV, Hope Barringer, Clara Gerdes Bartz (Christopher), Martha Gerdes, Mary Georgia Gerdes;  two great-grandchildren, Matthias and Cecilia Bartz and two nieces, Lynn and Leigh Brannon.

A graveside service will be held on Saturday, July 12th, at 11 AM at the Moncure Methodist Cemetery at 6071 Lower Moncure Road, Sanford. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Railroad House Historical Association, NC Girl Scouts Coastal Pines, the Mann Center of NC, or the NC Museum of History.  

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