Bernadean Fern Barrett

Bernadean was born on October 15, 1932 in Bonners Ferry, Idaho to William (“Bill”) and Ruth (Thompson) McLaughlin, the middle of three children. She completed her secondary education at the Academy of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho in 1950. From there, Bernadean attended the Sacred Heart School of Nursing in Spokane, Washington, a three year nursing program founded by the Sisters of Providence. She graduated in 1954. Having her RN Degree, she worked for a year as an Airline Hostess for Trans World Airlines. After a nerve-wracking in-flight emergency, she landed herself back in health care, working as a surgical nurse in the operating room for many years. She eventually took a temporary job at Cascade Mental Health in Chehalis, Washington, and stayed for 25 years, retiring from there in 1997.

On an outing with her nursing friends at the 1953 Apple Blossom Festival in Wenatchee, Washington, Bernadean met her future husband, James Richard Barrett. They married in 1956 and celebrated 53 years of marriage before his passing. They lived in various Pacific Northwest locales before finally settling in Centralia in 1967.

The Barrett house was the heartbeat of the family as kids grew up, moved out, moved back in, grandkids stopped by for visits, or stayed to live, all the while Bernadean carried on through life’s celebrations and tribulations. As she grew older, she appreciated conversations conducted from her chair in the family room, always finding joy in the life journeys of her children and grandchildren. She would say that she had her best ideas from those moments and reminiscences.

She is survived by her children, Lisa Tennant of Chehalis; Ric Barrett of Yakima, Washington; Krista Barrett of Tacoma, Washington; and Jon Barrett of Centralia; her siblings, Herb McLaughlin and Jerrydean Mercer; as well as 14 grandchildren. She was preceded in death by daughter, Elizabeth Barrett in 1958; and husband Richard in 2010.

A Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Friday, February 11, 2022 at 11:00 a.m., at St. Mary Church, 225 N. Washington Ave, Centralia. In lieu of flowers, donations in honor of Bernadean Barrett may be made to Cascade Mental Health on their donation page at https://cascadecommunityhealthcare.org.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.sticklinsfuneralchapel.com for the Barrett family.