Mary K. Barham

Mary (Kourtis) Barham was born on January 6, 1927 in Seminole, Oklahoma. She was the 8th of 9 children born to Sam and Vasiliki Kourtis (both of Athens, Greece). Life was hard during The Great Depression for her family; her father died when she was just 9 years old. Her mother had to care for the nine children on her own, not an easy task. Mary's older siblings wanted to be sure that she could go to college and they sent her to Oklahoma State University. She graduated in 1949 and was Phi Beta Kappa and in a sorority. She worked at an insurance agency and lived at home with her mother until she was in her 30s when she met her husband. Mary married Ken Barham on May 20, 1961. They lived in Seminole, OK for many years and had one child, Kenneth Jr., in May 1964. When he was about four years old, they moved to Oklahoma City where her husband, Ken, worked with oil field companies as a salesman. They remained in Oklahoma City for the rest of Ken's life and were married for almost 50 years before Ken passed on May 10, 2010 at 84 years old. Mary moved to Longmont, CO in November 2010 to be near her son's family. She lived at Hover Manor senior apartments for about a year, then moved to Bea Hover Assisted Living in early 2012. She loved living there; she always enjoyed the meals, the company, and her special caregivers. Nezha was her favorite caregiver; she was always so kind and patient with Mary. Her son Kenny's family lived a mile away and visited as often as possible. Mary was so proud of all of her grandchildren. Everyone she met knew about her five grandsons and her granddaughter and their accomplishments. She truly believed her grandchildren were the most extraordinary and unique people who ever existed. Mary suffered several falls and broken bones in her last years of life. She was a very tenacious woman who refused to give up in any way. But the last fall was just too much for her and she passed away just one day before her 92nd birthday on 1/5/19. She is survived by her son, Kenneth Jr. and his wife, JoAnn, as well as her six grandchildren and their significant others, Matthew (wife Rachael), Timothy, William (fiancee Megan), Emma, Joseph, and James. She will be inurned at Ft. Logan National Cemetery with her late husband. It's the end of an era; she was the last grandparent left. She will be missed.