Barbara Ritschard

May 3, 1939 - November 22, 2020

Hollyhocks…

The large ruffled flowers crowded on tall, sturdy stems grew abundantly in the small town of Roosevelt, Utah, flourishing in the hot desert sunshine, as did young Barbara Nelson. The brightly colored blooms inspired some of Barbara’s first creative talents, creativity that would blossom across her lifetime.

Have you ever made a hollyhock doll? Barbara and her sisters made hundreds! Take a large blossom and turn it upside down for the frilly dress. Then take another hollyhock bud, barely beginning to open, and attach it to the dress in a way that, with a little magic and imagination, appears as a lady’s head with beautiful upswept hair.

The world was at war for much of Barbara’s childhood, but there was still magic, fun and beauty for a little girl, and Barbara soaked up a lot of it. Flower dolls. Evening trips to pine-shaded, river-serenaded Uinta Canyon for cookouts and fishing or overnight camping. Playing with dozens of cousins. Swimming at the headgate in the irrigation canal. Learning some of the games, dances, and language of the people of the Ute Reservation surrounding Roosevelt. Uncles who called her “Bubbles.”

And sometimes, there was the soda pop run. Her dad drove the bottling company delivery truck, and occasionally, Barbara got to go along with him on deliveries to isolated Maybell, Colorado, 120 miles east. The truck crawled slowly up the long, gray-green, sage-covered hills, and eased down into the broad, ochre, sandy washes, the glass pop bottles rattling in the heavy wooden cases. It was a long trip of distant vistas under an immense artist’s sky of blue watercolor wash and white clouds — and the future artist absorbed it all.

Many years later, Barbara made the same trip in reverse, this time aboard a Continental Trailways bus. Somewhere out in the emptiness west of Maybell, crawling over those same long hills and broad washes, the bus caught fire — temporarily. It eventually got going again, but there was lots of smelly smoke, lots of stops to cool off, lots of stinky, unhappy passengers, and not a lot of speed. When the bus finally made it to the first substantial sign of civilization in Vernal, Utah, Barbara bolted. In the days before cell phones, she managed a surprise call to her niece in Vernal, who picked her up at the bus station and delivered her the final 30 miles to Roosevelt, hours behind schedule but a long way ahead of the bus. It certainly wasn’t her only return to Roosevelt over the years, but it became one of the most legendary.

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Barbara (Nelson) Ritschard was born May 3, 1939, just north of Roosevelt, Utah, on the old Pope place, the family’s small farm, to Verland Nelson and LaVerda (Timothy) Nelson, the third of four sisters — Glenda, Lillian, Barbara and Billie. The family soon moved into town for school.

In her youth, Barbara faced serious medical challenges but proved herself a fighter, surviving life-threatening conditions and medical treatment that would seem primitive today. It was a strength she would need later in life.

Barbara graduated from Union High School in Roosevelt with the Class of 1957. A year later, working the lunch counter and soda fountain at Marion’s Variety in Roosevelt, she met a handsome, young civil engineer, Herbert Ritschard from Kremmling, Colorado, who was working for Core Lab as part of oil explorations in the area. Apparently Barbara was quite distracted by this new guy across the counter — absent-mindedly putting the coffee pot in the refrigerator, for which she took a lot of teasing. They were married November 22, 1958, in the Nelson home in Roosevelt, in a double wedding ceremony alongside her sister Billie and Billie’s fiancé Richard Miller.

During their early years together, Barbara and Herb moved frequently with his developing career to such remote and exotic locales as Blanding, Utah; Meeker and Glenwood Springs, Colorado; Dutch John and Salt Lake City, Utah; Cheyenne, Wyoming; and back to Glenwood. Their three children Ronald, Regina and Ted arrived during this time. At the start of 1968, another move brought Barbara and Herb “up the Muddy” to the Ritschard family ranch near Kremmling, Colorado, and eventually into town to raise their young family. Soon, they were building their own house, and Barbara focused on the colors, furnishings and functions to make it a home.

Over the years, Barbara’s diverse interests and wonder in the world led her to multiple careers in Kremmling, including secretary to the administrator at Kremmling Memorial Hospital, and to the principal at West Grand Junior High School (where she once calmly watched students sneaking out a window onto the roof, and promptly locked the window behind them). She loved running her own catering business and partnering with friends to create not one, but two different fabric businesses. She was involved in many social and community activities, such as the Zeta Pi women’s sorority group, planning for the design of the then-new high school, managing the Exhibit Hall at the Middle Park Fair, or leading the charge to bring cultural events to the rural community, from professional singers to harp concerts.

After nearly 20 years in Kremmling, with their children grown and gone, it was time to move on to new adventures. Their moves took Barbara and Herb to Rifle, the Ritschard ranch, and Pueblo, Colorado. In 2005 they moved to Colorado City, Colorado, where they built a hilltop house with a sweeping view of the Greenhorn Mountains. Their adventures took them almost to the ends of the earth — Puntas Arenas, Chile, near the far southern tip of South America; and Inuvik in the far northern territories of Canada above the Arctic Circle, during a driving trip to Alaska. In between were trips to Panama, Italy, and twice to Switzerland. Most importantly, the grandchildren had started arriving, and Barbara had a whole new generation to tend and teach and love and help to explore the world’s wonders.

Barbara spent a life fully engaged in the people, places, and passions that defined her. Family, friends, community, fine and culinary arts, culture and history, humor and crafts all held her passionate attention. She made friends wherever she went, deep and enduring friendships. Her musical laugh was her trademark, floating above the events and parties that she loved to host and cook for. Barbara was always ready for a new adventure, and readily brought adventure to those around her, from happily climbing in the window of a race car to go for a few high-speed laps, to showing people how to dig up pinecones hidden by squirrels in their treasure caches beneath the lodgepole pines, to learning the management trade at Walmart and opening several new stores.

She sometimes expressed regret that she had not continued into higher education — and yet Barbara was always learning and teaching those around her. In the days before the internet, she worked hard in a correspondence course to learn about writing children’s books. She taught her children the importance of reading by her own example, and seemed to organize a book club wherever she went. On family trips across the desert Southwest, she eagerly soaked up the history and culture of Native Americans. Later on, she plunged into painting — experimenting with colors and methods, studying books, and traveling to art courses. Barbara turned out a beautiful stream of paintings over the years, including landscapes, still-life paintings, and delicate floral depictions especially. She was enthusiastic about teaching others to paint, was active in the Pueblo Art Guild, and later organized the Cuerno Verde Arts Council in Colorado City.

Creativity seemed embedded in Barbara’s DNA. Writing, painting, quilting, sewing her children’s clothes, and making dried wildflower arrangements were just a few of her creative endeavors. Her cooking was legendary, and good enough to launch a catering career. From making pickles and canning fruit, to huge breakfasts and dinners for dozens of visiting guests, Barbara could make it seem effortless (unless you had to clean up the kitchen behind her!) Despite many frustrated attempts, even with her coaching, Barbara’s tasty potato salad has never been successfully duplicated. Her Christmas candy-making remains legendary, including the hand-dipped chocolates with cherries and jellies, the mints and rum balls, and the peanut brittle that streamed out of her kitchen as gifts for family and friends.

Underneath it all, Barbara harbored a deep spiritual resolve that guided her attitude, her friendly actions toward others, and her love for her husband and children. She served others in various callings over the years in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During her later years, that service was returned to her many times over in the care, concern and love by the members of the Rye, Colorado, congregation of the church.

Even after a debilitating stroke in 2015, Barbara remained creative, inquisitive and caring. She longed to return to her painting and cooking and traveling. With courage and determination, she fought her way back, several times, to be able to walk and read and learn, and to live in her own home with Herb in Colorado City. With Herb’s selfless service as her husband and caretaker, as well as dedicated friends and neighbors on “Team Barbara", she enjoyed several more years of a life fully lived and engaged.

Barbara passed away on November 22, 2020 — her and Herb’s 62nd wedding anniversary. She was preceded in death by her parents and by sisters Lillian and Billie. She is survived by her husband Herb, by sons Ron (Michelle) and Ted (Julie) Ritschard, by daughter Regina (Henry) Verstraete, and by her big sister Glenda Hall. At her passing, Barbara and Herb had 11 grandchildren who adore her — Ethan Ritschard, Susannah Ritschard, Jena (Kirk) Reichelt, Tony Valdez, Sarah Valdez, Laura (Andrew) Hill, Luke Verstraete, Benjamin (Mandy) Ritschard, Emily (Steven) Pruiett, Jared (Allison) Ritschard, and Katie Ritschard. She is also survived by a dozen great-granchildren — Zoe, Knox, Mack, TJ, Stella, Lincoln, Cecilia, Delia, Chandler, Avery, Hadley, and Sawyer — and by cousins, in-laws, dear friends, and thousands of treasured memories.

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In her last weeks, Barbara was surrounded by loving family, in person and in the framed photos of her darling grandchildren on the walls of her bedroom. Some of those frames included her other “children” — her beloved floral watercolors of poppies, irises, and roses. On one wall hung perhaps the largest floral painting she ever created.

A painting of large ruffled flowers crowded on tall, sturdy stems…

Hollyhocks.

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The family would love to hear and treasure your memories of Barbara! For now, please share your memories and thoughts with the family by posting them on the mortuary website at www.crownhillfuneral.com.

Cards and letters may be sent to the family at 3069 S. Holland Court, Lakewood, CO 80227. Memorial services for Barbara may be announced in the future.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to:

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital — “Finding cures. Saving children.”

More information at stjude.org, or call 800-822-6344