| Honored by: | Republican Women of Black Hawk County; The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences |
| Brick location: | F:9 and K:28 map |
Barbara Speicher was born October 21, 1932, at her grandparents' home in Sumner, Iowa.
Barbara started school in Fredericksburg, Iowa, and then attended one-room rural schools in Chickasaw County. She graduated from New Hampton High School in 1950 and worked as a secretary at Rath Packing Company, Waterloo, Iowa.
She married Charles E. (Chuck) Grassley on August 22, 1954 at The Little Brown Church near Nashua, Iowa. They are the parents of Lee, Wendy, Robin, Michele and Jay. They have nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Barbara started at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) in the fall of 1954. She took time off to raise their children and for her husband's campaigns for the Iowa Legislature, U.S. Congress, and the U.S. Senate, returned to UNI in 1981, and earned her degree in accounting in 1983.
Barbara is a member of Prairie Lakes Church, Cedar Falls, Iowa, and also attends Mt. Vernon Baptist Church, Arlington, Virginia.
Barbara is a 28-year breast cancer survivor and is a member of the Executive Committee of Congressional Families for Cancer Prevention. She also participates in The Congressional Club and Senate Spouses activities.
Submitted on 2/26/2015