Barbara Ann Binford

Haviland – Barbara Ann Plank Hecht Smitherman Binford, 90, died August 9, 2026, at Parkwood Village Assisted Living, Pratt, Kansas. She was born on August 15, 1935, at a farmhouse at Mitchell, Rice County, Kansas, to Marvin and Pearl (Babcock) Plank, the third of five children. The family moved to a farm near Coldwater, Kansas in April 1940. The children attended all eight grades and graduated from Pleasant Ridge School, a country school one half mile from home. Then they all attended and graduated from Friends Haviland Academy, Haviland, Kansas. Barbara graduated in 1954. She loved to sing and traveled on weekends to many churches with the Academy music groups and choirs.

On July 10, 1955, Barbara married Darrell E. Hecht from Coldwater. She was a pastor’s wife until his death in June 2000. They lived in California, then several Kansas locations during their marriage; residing in Hesston, Kansas, where Barbara worked at Hesston College, then Newton, Kansas after retirement.

During the years when their four children were growing up she made most of the family’s clothing, as well as sewing for friends and neighbors. She also graduated from a secretarial school and worked at an insurance company and various banks throughout her marriage to help support the family.

In August 2004, Barbara returned to Haviland, Kansas after marrying David Smitherman and was with him until his death in April 2012. On April 8, 2013, Barbara then married Allen Binford and they resided in Haviland.

Barbara is survived by her four children: Marsha Sanchez, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Roland Hecht and wife Janet, Overland Park, Kansas; Sonya Wilson and husband Kevin, Selma, North Carolina; Darin Hecht and wife Jennifer, Derby, Kansas; nine grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren; and a sister Phyllis Kinser, Newton Kansas. She was preceded in death by her parents, Marvin and Pearl Plank; a brother, John Plank; two sisters, Ellen Winters and Dorothy Burkall; and three husbands, Darrell Hecht, David Smitherman and Allen Binford.

A memorial service and celebration of Barbara’s life will be 2:00pm, Saturday, September 19, 2026, at the Pratt Friends Church, Pratt, Kansas with Pastor Mike Neifert presiding. The family will visit with friends at a reception following the service. Inurnment will be in Haviland Cemetery, Haviland. Memorials are suggested to Barclay College, Haviland; Haviland Friends Church, Haviland; and Pratt Friends Church, Pratt, all in care of Fleener Funeral Home, PO Box 41, Greensburg, Kansas 67054. The family also recognizes and thanks the staff of Parkwood Village for the compassion, friendship and excellent care provided to Barbara during her residence there.