Loraine "Lori" Barger

Loraine “Lori” Barger, age 90, passed away on June 14, 2025. She had been a resident of Toledo since 1972.

Lori was born in Detroit, Michigan on October 3, 1934, to Fred and Emma Schroeder, and she was preceded in death by her parents and siblings Marion Orr and Donald Schroeder.

The family later moved to Rochester, Michigan, where Lori was in the Rochester High School graduating class of 1952. She then attended Valparaiso University and Detroit’s Arts and Crafts Institute, where she studied fashion illustration.

In 1960 she married Melvin D. Barger, who preceded her in death in 2017. Lori is survived by her four adult children: Wayne (Lisa), Coppell, Texas; Craig (Kris), Show Low, Arizona; Dean, Falmouth, Maine; and Lynne (Jon) Gochenour, Toledo, Ohio. Lori also had ten grandchildren; Heather, Nolan, Adrian, Danny, Kendall, Paige, Lena, Nora, Rowan, and Mira.

Following graduation from art school, Lori became a fashion artist for Jacobsen’s department store in Jackson, Michigan. She did free-lance artwork for several clothing stores before the family moved to Toledo in 1972. She then joined the Advertising Department of the Lion Store as a fashion illustrator, retiring in 1991.

Lori continued to express her lifelong love of art by frequent sketching and practicing her skills as a graphic illustrator. She was especially fond of drawing illustrations of her many grandchildren. During their long retirement, Lori and Mel traveled extensively around the country visiting their many friends and relatives. On these trips, Lori was always interested in visiting notable art museums or places and architectural interest. She was also a regular visitor to the Toledo Museum of Art during her fifty plus years in the Toledo community.

A celebration of life will be held for close family members later in the year and memorial contributions may be made to the Toledo Museum of Art in Lori’s memory.