Naman Shrestha
Lifetime’s ‘Surviving My Father: The Rachel Jeffs Story‘ is a biographical drama film that is based on the experiences of Rachel Jeffs while she was residing with her father, Warren Jeffs, and his multiple wives and children, as a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS). Besides focusing on the journey of the titular character, it also focuses on her mother, Barbara Jeffs, who was one of the many wives of Warren, the leader of the FLDS.
Barbara Jeffs Became Warren Jeffs’ Second Wife in Her Teenage Years
On October 1, 1964, Isaac Winford Barlow and Dorothy Marie Hancock Barlow welcomed a little bundle of joy into the world in the form of Barbara Ann Barlow. Barbara was seemingly raised in a loving household by her parents, alongside her siblings — Deborah Marie Barlow, Marianne Barlow, Annette Barlow, and Levi Hancock Barlow — with whom she developed a close-knit bond as they spent a lot of quality time in childhood.
By the time she was 19, Barbara had married Warren Jeffs, who later became the leader of a polygamous sect called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). As he practiced and preached polygamy, she was one of his 78 wives. Her sister, Annette, was also one of his many polygamous wives. In 1983, Barbara gave birth to her daughter with Warren — Rachel Jeffs — unaware that she would grow up to be the one who broke the pattern of abuse and polygamy practiced in the community led by Warren. While raising Rachel, she was seemingly unaware of the alleged abuse that her husband inflicted on their daughter.
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Barbara Jeffs Was Given a Second Funeral Years After Her Death
In the early 2000s, Barbara Jeffs started to grow weak, but her husband, Warren, allegedly didn’t pay much attention to her health. It was only when her health deteriorated drastically that she was examined by a doctor, who concluded that she had cancer. It was incurable as it had been diagnosed too late. Rachel was devastated when she learned about Barbara’s deadly ailment. On July 10, 2004, at the age of 39, she died of cancer at the Yearning for Zion (YFZ) Ranch near Eldorado in Texas. After she was officially pronounced dead, her remains were buried on the ranch.
Several years later, after Rachel managed to separate herself from the polygamous sect, she decided to give her late mother a second, better funeral. Thus, in September 2018, after getting the necessary permit, Barbara’s remains were exhumed and transported to Centennial Park, Arizona, where Rachel arranged her second funeral. According to reports, approximately 130 people attended the funeral, including her grandchildren and many who were unable to attend the first one in 2004. She was finally laid to rest right next to her late father, Isaac Barlow, after the services.
