MEET BARBARA
Barbara Evans Fleischauer is an attorney, mother, wife, daughter, small business owner, outdoor enthusiast, reader and community volunteer. She is married to Bob Bastress, a Professor at WVU's College of Law. They have two children, Rob, 30 and Sarah, 20. Sarah attends Smith College in Massachusetts and Rob works as an attorney for a law firm in Charleston.
Barbara is a 1982 graduate of the WVU College of Law. She received her undergraduate degree from Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. She also studied a year at the University of Stockholm. In 1994, she was first elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates. She is currently serving her seventh, two-year term as a Delegate.
Delegate Fleischauer's mother, Eleanor Evans Fleischauer, was a major influence in her life. Eleanor died of a brain tumor when Barbara was 23. Eleanor attended Antioch College where she met and sang with Coretta Scott King. The struggles of the King family, and their fight for social justice, had much to do with Barbara's moral education.
Barbara's father, Fred Fleischauer, was the first in his immediate family to graduate from high school or college. He went to MIT, became an engineer and college professor, and eventually started his own company to launch his inventions, obtaining 52 patents.
Fred married Jean Benkert, a school psychologist, in 1977. The couple lived happily in Pittsburgh, but in 2005, Fred had several falls, followed by surgeries and periods of confinement in hospitals and nursing homes. After months of battling various bureaucracies, Barbara's stepmother, Jean, was finally successful in bringing Fred home. Through Jean's hard work and Pennsylvania's quality community services, Fred was able to spend his last years at home - he died in February of 2009. Seeing all that her father went through, as well as the benefit of the good services he received, Barbara became even more inspired to continue fighting for increased funding for in-home services for the disabled and elderly in West Virginia.
Barbara was named after her mother's two sisters, Barbara and JoAnn. Both were actively involved in the formation of the women's movement in the 60's and 70's, inspiring Barbara to follow in their footsteps. JoAnn's husband, Gerald, a Geophysicist and Professor of Mathematics, was also active – helping to prove that discrimination had occurred in several landmark legal cases, including one involving the Pittsburgh Press that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition to nursing her father in his last years, Barbara has been traveling back and forth to Pittsburgh to help care for her Uncle Gerrie, who died of leukemia in July, and her Aunt JoAnn, who is suffering from diabetes and dementia, but is still living at home.
Barbara has two siblings - a sister, Nancy, who lives outside of San Francisco with two children, and a brother, Max, also with two kids, who lives in Los Angeles. Barbara's brother Mark, who had four children and seven grandchildren, committed suicide in August, 2008. It has been a difficult couple of years for Barbara and her family.
One very pleasant exception was the marriage of Bob and Barbara's son Rob, in September 2009, to Blair Malken. Rob and Blair met and fell in love when they each served as law clerks for different federal judges in Charleston. They bought a home in Charleston, but attend as many WVU football and basketball games as possible.
Starting a private law practice in Morgantown in 1983, Barbara served from 1987-1991 as General Counsel for District 31 of the United Mine Workers of America. She also worked part-time as an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division for the State of West Virginia. Her law office is currently located in the Monongahela Building in downtown Morgantown.
Bob and Barbara live on the Evans family farm on Baker's Ridge. The Evans family has resided in Monongalia County since the 1700s. Members of Barbara's family fought in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I and World War II. Bob and Barbara have a large vegetable garden and Bob has become an avid canner. His specialties include spaghetti and hot pepper sauces. Both Barbara and Bob love to cook.
Barbara and Bob are active in community and state organizations. Bob was President of the West Virginia Humanities Council and has served on the local Legal Services Board for over twenty years. Barbara is currently a Board member on several local boards, including Mylan Puskar Health Right, Valley Health Care, and the Monongalia County Child Advocacy Center. She is an active member of Morgantown Rotary, the Stewartstown Community, Education and Outreach Service (CEOS) and the WVU Campus Club book group.