Pamela “Pam” Barney
Pamela “Pam” Kay (Ulery) Barney, age 83, most recently of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, passed away on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at UPMC Passavant Hospital in McCandless. Born in Goshen, Indiana, Pam was the beloved daughter of the late Robert and Eleanor (Yoder) Ulery.
Pam was the first in her family to attend college, graduating from Butler University with a bachelor’s degree and from the University of St. Mary with a master’s in education. During her college years, she consistently ranked at the top of her class. While there were cost concerns, Pam was such a valued student that the dean ensured her education could continue. Pam was honored with the Miss Congeniality award in the Miss Indiana Pageant, exemplifying someone who was lovely in many ways. She was president of her sorority, Pi Beta Phi. This proved consequential, as it was in the Pi Beta Phi house that her future sister-in-law, Sandra (Barney) Buchanan, stumbled into the largest bedroom to find a pretty, intelligent, and accomplished woman sitting at her desk and decided, “This might be the one for my brother.”
Shortly after obtaining her Bachelor’s and a few months after their meeting, Pam married Army Engineer Daniel “Dan” G. Barney. They were married in Goshen and would stay married for the rest of their lives.
After they wed, the Army stationed Dan in France, where Pam joined him on their first overseas tour. Despite living only in Indiana up to that point, she was a natural traveler; she thrived in all new environments. Pam dedicated 30 years of her life to teaching English and History, impacting the lives of her students in Kansas, Alabama, and overseas in France, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Germany. While teaching at Heidelberg High School in Germany, she coached JV soccer. It was there that her “tough, but fair” teaching style (as described by her students) was honored with the Department of Defense Dependents Schools’ Teacher of the Year award in 1990, an honor she received from President George H. W. Bush at the White House.
After retiring from teaching, Pam and Dan returned to the United States, eventually settling in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. She became an active member of St. John’s Episcopal Church, where she volunteered for children’s programming and sang in the choir. If you were lucky enough to attend a service, she might have winked a smile at you while she sang, winding through the pews. She was an expert at making you feel very special. Pam was also a talented quilter, dedicating her entire basement to the craft. She sold her creations locally and would want you to know that her Christmas potholders were always the most popular. Throughout her life, she was a lover of dogs. They were her favorite animal, and she treated the dogs that lived in the Barney household like kings. As a lifetime host to high-ranking military officials and international diplomats, Pam created an environment that made you want to stay.
Following Dan’s passing in 2020, Pam relocated to Pittsburgh with her last dog, Megan. She lived less than a fifteen-minute drive from her daughter, Elizabeth “Liz” (Barney) Pultorak. They enjoyed Wednesday dinners together, and Pam particularly looked forward to a glass of scotch or wine with each home-cooked meal. On Sundays, they attended St. Brendan’s Episcopal Church, where she still knew each hymn by heart.
Pam is survived by her son, Scott Barney (husband, Joe Pelletier) of San Francisco, CA; her daughter, Elizabeth Pultorak of Wexford, PA; and her brother, Robert Ulery of Morganton, NC. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Alexandra, Cassandra, and Azaria. She will be interred with Dan at USMA West Point Cemetery.