Barbara "Jo" Joan Shown

Barbara Joan “Jo” Heying Pike Shown, age 91, of Castle Rock, Colorado, passed away peacefully on October 4, 2025. She was born on October 21,1933 in Cement, Oklahoma, to Stella Heying and Irving Heying.

“Jo” as she was known, was preceded in death by her parents and son, Jeffrey Charles Pike.

She is survived by her daughters, Laurie Anderson (Dennie), Joni Pike-Shank (Bob); her son Donald D. Pike Jr. (Juliet); her granddaughter, Heather Thornton (Dan); her grandson, Cole Ernst (Melissa); her great grandchildren Ryker Ernst, Liam Ernst; and her sister, Jean Akin of Manhattan, Kansas.

Jo was born in Cement, Oklahoma but grew up mostly in Clovis, New Mexico with her parents and her sister Jean. She later met Donald Pike while she was going to Teachers College. They married and had their first child, Joni Gayle Pike, in 1955 while living in Clovis.

In 1956, the family moved to Englewood, Colorado where our father took a new job with the Martin Company, October 2, 1956, working on the Titan 1 ICBM on the Test Stands. He later worked on the Viking Lander and other projects.

In 1958, Donald “Butch” Pike was born, followed by Jeffrey Charles Pike in 1959, and followed by Laurie Lee Pike in 1963.

In 1964, outgrowing the small house on South Grant street in Englewood, a co-worker of our Dad named Bill Minter suggested he buy a 2 ½ acre plot in his new subdivision called Monte-Vista Estates which was located just outside the little town of Castle Rock. Rather than build a conventional house, our parents chose to instead buy an old commercial building (built in 1944) that was formerly a Bingo Factory and up for sale. They spent $1000 dollars for the building and $1000 to move it. The building was divided into 2/3 and 1/3 portions for the move.

Our grandparents Erv and Stella came in the Summer of 1964 and helped our Mom and Dad pour an 8 foot tall foundation (using homemade plywood forms). Our grandfather was a handy guy to have around because, fortunately, before they started laying out and pouring the all-important footers, he pointed out to our father that he had measured the building dimensions incorrectly. The foundation was too wide for the building, which would have fallen down inside the foundation.

Once the foundation was complete, the movers slid the house onto the foundation and so began the monumental task of building a home out of an empty commercial building.

Mom wore many hats during all of this. She was our mother who cooked for us, made lunches and washed our clothes all the while painting and texturing drywall along with sewing clothes for us to wear and sleep in. This was a difficult place to live in at that time. Lots of hardship due to no county road maintenance or snow removal on our subdivision’s unpaved roads. Through it all, our mother never complained and loved and took care of us unconditionally. When we were all finally in school, she worked part time at the B&B waiting tables, the school kitchen, and then at a bakery (we had day old doughnuts for breakfast).

In 1968 she decided to go to beauty school in Englewood to learn a trade which she practiced for over 30 years. This decision proved to make a difference. Later on she could still provide for us and after our parents divorced in 1976. During all those years, she drove less than perfect cars that struggled with reliability. Her first new car was a 1994 Subaru. Before that they were all used cars. She could drive a stick shift but really enjoyed automatics. Born out of the great depression she was always frugal and careful with her money. She rarely spent money on herself and would buy or make Christmas presents and wrap them in July and August. She would stuff our Christmas stockings with treats and practical items like socks and shampoos and envelopes with $20 bills. She never forgot a birthday either and you could count on a card mailed to you with $10 in it every year.

In her retirement, she babysat her grandchildren Cole and Heather every summer, and took care of them as she did her own children while growing up.

Mom loved to go to bingo and the casino (slots) with her best friend Iris. She was particularly skilled at sewing and crafts, and she would make many pins from old watch parts and sell those and other crafts at craft shows with her daughter Laurie and granddaughter Heather with help from Melissa.

Mom loved to travel and enjoyed going to Italy, France, England, and the Caribbean. She spent two of her birthdays in Paris, her favorite destination. She celebrated one year in London. When she arrived at Heathrow, she told a steward she spoke his language, managing to say it with a British accent. He laughed out loud. When in London she visited the Hard Rock Café and was treated like royalty. The DJ asked what song he could play to celebrate her 81st birthday and she very quickly volunteered “Let It Be” by the Beatles. The British DJ loved that. They also brought her a birthday sundae and sang the birthday song. She felt like the Queen of England! We will cherish those memories forever.

Mom’s life was one of kindness, generosity, and service, and she will be dearly missed by all who knew her.