Barbara Bennett

Barbara had an extraordinary gift for living life to its fullest. She returned from a trip to Africa just weeks before she died, just in time to tie up loose ends on a major redo of the landscaping in her front yard and a bathroom/bedroom remodel she had set in motion before boarding the plane for Nairobi. Two days before her death, propped up by pillows and breathing with the help of her oxygen machine, she met with her interior designer to finalize her choices for pillow shams. She knew she didn’t have long, and she wanted to leave the house in perfect shape for her husband.

Barbara’s compassion and caring for all living creatures, including her friends and family members, was legendary. She was a Big Sister, in an effort to help young women gain self-esteem. She served on the board of Women Source, an organization that provided safe housing for battered women. She also served on the board of Carriage House, (now called Bridge House), a Boulder organization that helps homeless individuals turn their lives around. She taught meditation in prisons though the Prison Dharma Network and worked for years to advance the cause of one of her students she believed was unfairly convicted.

Barbara was born June 13, 1948, to Arnold Williams and Myrtle Bates Williams in Stamford, Conn. She spent her early years in Darien, Conn., and moved to Lancaster, Penn., when she was 7. She and her “Irish twin” sister, Jean, grew up next to a dairy farm and loved exploring its corn and wheat fields, hay barn and cow paths. They roamed far and wide on bikes, climbed tall trees, built igloos in snow drifts, and played with neighborhood kids...only returning home when their mother rang a school bell. Barbara's lifelong love of gardening began with sunflower-growing contests in the back yard.

Barbara graduated Manheim Township High School in 1966. She received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Franklin and Marshall College.

Barbara married Gary Bennett in 1967 in Lancaster, where her son Ben was born in 1968. In 1971, the family moved to Lansing, Mich., where Barbara earned a master’s degree in mathematics at Michigan State University. She and Gary divorced in 1975.

Barbara went to work for IBM in 1974 in Jackson, Michigan. She started off as a customer engineer, fixing and servicing office machines. IBM managers quickly recognized her potential and moved her into more challenging jobs. In 1981, she accepted a position in service planning at the IBM facility in Boulder, after which she rotated through a variety of positions in Springfield, Mass., Boston, Poughkeepsie, and New York City, as she rose through the ranks of IBM management. Barbara eventually transferred back to Boulder where she managed the Boulder branch of Business Recovery Systems (where she was known as the “master of disaster”). She served as deputy project executive for a team providing outsourced IT to a US company and then to a consortium of businesses in Stockholm, Sweden. When she returned to the US, she managed a billion-dollar outsourcing project for the company.

Barbara married Michael Chapman in 1989. The couple’s yearly bicycling adventures took them to off-the-beaten-track regions of far-off lands, from Cambodia to Patagonia, where they loved getting to know locals and usually ended up teaching for a week or two in schools where the youngsters had never met a person from the United States.

Barbara retired from IBM in March 2004. Retirement meant that Barbara could indulge her passions. She devoted more time to serving nonprofit organizations, tending her organic vegetable garden, participating in meditation retreats and riding with her bike club, Seniors on Bikes (SOBs).

Barbara is survived by her husband Michael Chapman; her sister Jean Williams of Wakefield, Rhode Island and her brother Evan Williams of the Philippines; her son Ben Bennett (Jennifer) of Hatfield, Mass.; her stepchildren Neil Chapman, (Jennifer) of Flagstaff, Ariz., and Nicole Girolomo (Dave) of Cheshire, Conn.; and four grandchildren. She is predeceased by her mother, Myrtle Williams, whom Barbara lovingly cared for until her death on July 5, 2018 at the age of 99.

Barbara’s lifelong meditation practice served her well as she struggled with her illness, helping her appreciate the perfection of the present moment and infusing her with gratitude. Here’s how Barbara put it in one of her blog posts:

“I repeatedly have the thought that today may be the best day of all those I have left, health-wise. I may never feel better than I do now. That shifts my perception to really look around at the beauty of my yard or of the mountains, to my gratitude for the support of my husband, friends and family, to breathe in the smells, to luxuriate in the health and vitality of my body, even as it is. Just feeling grateful. This has been a real blessing.”

We, her friends and family, are grateful for the blessing of having Barbara in our lives.

A celebration of Barbara’s life will be held on January 19, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. at Columbine Spiritual Center, 8900 Arapahoe Rd, Boulder. All are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, consider making a contribution to Bridge House at www.boulderbridgehouse.org