She was born Barbara Jane Williams, on March 4, 1928 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her parents were H. Russell and Mary Dean (Whitmer) Williams, of Indianapolis, IN. She graduated from Howe High School in Indianapolis and attended Oberlin College. She was married to the late M. Vere DeVault for 30 years; they had three children and lived in Ft. Wayne, IN, Austin, TX, and Madison, WI. Later in life, she enjoyed loving partnerships with Robert Lawrence and William Grover, both of Madison and now deceased. She built an artist’s studio, and then a cozy house, in the woods near Lodi, WI, where friends loved to visit. More recently, she lived with Bill at Coventry Village in Madison. In 2017, she moved to Cape Cod, to be near her daughter Marj and son-in-law Bob.
Creativity was always at the center of Barbara’s life. She was a talented artist and sold watercolor paintings at Wisconsin art fairs and her Morning Glory Studio, and later, showed her embossed hand-made paper works at the Artisan Gallery in Paoli. There was hardly a medium or craft she didn’t try; in her 80s, she took up weaving and made striking digital photographs. Her parents gave her a love of music which she passed on to her children, and she played the piano throughout her life.
Barbara loved to meet new people. She had a way of “taking people in,” and she nurtured and inspired friends of all ages. She loved being a mother and grandmother, and she found many ways to express her love and support. She was fiercely independent, smart, lively, funny, and always up for an adventure, whether it was building a house, marbling paper, raising bantam hens, a new computer project, or spending a year with Bill in the RV.
Barbara inherited from her father a love of making things, and the mobility problems she faced in the last year of her life were especially challenging. With help from friends and caregivers, however, she continued to enjoy life and good conversation.
Barbara is survived by her children and their spouses, Marjorie DeVault and Robert Chibka, Brewster, MA, Ileen DeVault and Diane Feldman, Ithaca, NY, and Phil DeVault and Bridgett Wonder, Bainbridge Island, WA; her granddaughter Sara Manli DeVault-Feldman; and her cousin John Whitmer and his wife Kathy, Bellingham, WA. She was preceded in death by her brother David Russell Williams and his wife Elsa Williams, Memphis, TN.
The family is deeply grateful to the staff at the Pleasant Bay Nursing Center in Brewster, who took the time to know and appreciate Barbara and assisted her in many ways. For online condolences, please visit www.nickersonfunerals.com.
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