Barbara Ann Long (née Jahn) was the eighth of nine children born to Anna Maude (née Stump) and Martin George Jahn in Falls City, Nebraska, on November 25, 1939. A 1962 graduate of the University of Nebraska Lincoln with a BS in Education, she began her career as an English and Speech teacher at Beatrice High School in Beatrice, Nebraska. There she met, and then married, John Sidney Kudlacek an art teacher at the high school.
After moving to Emporia, Kansas she continued teaching English and completed graduate work at Glassboro State University (New Jersey), Emporia State University (Kansas), and Washington State University. She then transitioned to district-wide public school administration and served as Director of Communications in the Emporia and later Topeka Public School (USD #501) districts. She served as Director of Communications for USD #501 for over 25 years, receiving many national and local awards including the National School Public Relations Administration (NSPRA) Impact Award. She served as vice-president of both the national and South Central Branch of NSPRA, was editor of Impact, the NSPRA professional journal, and was a charter member of the Kansas School Public Relations Association (KanSPRA). Locally, she was involved in Art for Kids and successful bond issues which helped to fund USD #501.
Always concerned with public service in her community, she was a member of the Topeka Rotary, Leadership Greater Topeka, and Topeka Sales and Marketing Executives organizations.
In 1989, she married Jack E. Long of Topeka. After retiring, the couple moved to Henderson, NV, where she was an active member of the P.E.O sorority and Green Valley Presbyterian Church. Jack and Barbara spent their retirement years traveling on African photo safaris, to Antarctica, and cruising around the world. Her favorite places were Norway, Scotland, and Africa.
A lifelong supporter of education and lover of learning and travel, asteroid 358167 Barbaralong was named after her in 2025.
She died of natural causes in her home in Henderson, Nevada, on April 29, 2025. She was preceded in death by her former husband John and her second husband Jack.
She is survived by a son, Kale J. Kudlacek (Tampa, FL), and daughter, Trina L. Kudlacek (Kaneohe, HI), and two stepchildren, David Long (Topeka, KS) and Nancy Boggs (née Long) (Topeka, KS).
The family’s preferences for donations in her memory are to the Topeka Public Schools Foundation.
