No crisis can shake the patience and inner peace of Barbara Maus of Oakville, the Call’s Mother of the Year, according to her son Gary.

From childhood pranks to serious injuries, Barbara never faced a situation she could not handle in a calm and graceful manner. For instance, when her 10-year old son nearly broke the family piano trying to tune it, she avoided yelling and handled the situation rationally.

More seriously, when a neighborhood toddler fell and hit her head on the concrete, Barbara had the presence of mind to simply pick up the bleeding child and care for her appropriately without causing panic or crisis.

It was situations like these in which Barbara showed the “deep inner strength and patience” that her son believed made her worthy of Mother-of-the-Year honors.

A native of South St. Louis, Barbara is the mother of three and the grandmother of eight. She and her husband, David, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next year, and her children seem to have nothing but praise for their mother.

“In 47 years, I’ve never heard my mom utter one curse word,” Gary said. “I’ve never heard her raise her voice to anyone except us unruly kids from time to time.

“I’ve never seen her take a single sip of alcohol, smoke anything, just nothing negative at all. In today’s world, that’s astounding.”

Barbara’s other “astounding traits made the Maus home a peaceful place amidst the hardships of the outside world,” Gary said.

Barbara believes that it is her religious faith that has given her the ability to do this.

She has been attending Redeemer Evangelical Church in South St. Louis for 66 years, and she is an active member of that community. She even has been involved in her church’s effort to help Bosnian, Romanian, and Russian immigrants settle in the St. Louis area. She also is a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity.

Though her church leadership and community service experience is vast, Barbara is very modest about them.

Among her happiest experiences are seeing her three children grow up, go to college, and “become contributing adults in this crazy world.”

She doesn’t hesitate to inform the young what it means to be a good mother.

“It means helping your kids grow up to be good citizens with a faith instilled in them to live a life that is rewarding and pleasing and to help others in their walk of life,” she counsels.

Barbara’s children and grandchildren believe she has accomplished this goal.

Speaking for the entire Maus family, Gary insists she is “the world’s best mom and she isn’t like any other mom.”