Ms. Barbara Pryor

OBITUARY Barbara Jean Browne was born in 1929 in Philadelphia, PA. As a teenager she worked in a button factory. After WW2 she graduated from Hadern Hospital Nursing School and then began her nursing career at Brunswick Hospital in Long Island, New York. In January 1951, Barbara married Edgar Pryor, who she met at a Valentine’s Day Dance in Harlem. They moved from Farmingdale, New York to Los Angeles, California in 1964, in pursuit of better employment opportunities. Their pursuit eventually led them to Sacramento, California the following year. Barbara was appointed as the first black head nurse in charge of the Orthopedic Department of Sutter General Hospital in Sacramento, CA. After retiring in 1987, Barbara volunteered for nearly 30 years at the Oak Park Sacramento Food Bank, UCD Davis Hospital and Harkness Elementary School. She is survived by her two children: Constance and Douglas Pryor. She is preceded in death by her husband, Edgar Pryor and sister, Constance Clayton-Davis. In addition to her children, Barbara leaves a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and beloved family and friends. She tried to make small differences along the way.