Barbara Ann Ley

Barbara Goble Ley, 87, died peacefully and surrounded by loved ones on Monday, January 1st, 2024, in the home she shared with her daughter Marcie near Jacksonville, Oregon. A woman of the world who loved nothing more than being home with her family, Barbara’s infinite kindness was matched only by her quiet but fierce determination.

Barbara was born on July 31st, 1936, in Chicago, IL, the second daughter of Emerson Goble and Margaret Scott. Her family moved to Chappaqua, NY shortly thereafter where she spent her remaining childhood alongside her older sister Judy. She attended Denison University and had her first taste of international adventure while spending a summer abroad in France. After graduating in 1958 with a degree in psychology, she moved to Boston to work at MIT and later accepted a job at New York Hospital working for Dr. Allyn Ley whom she initially worried would be a difficult man to work for. Luckily, she had a change of heart and the two were married six years later. As a new bride to a man seventeen years her senior, she bravely stepped into a rowdy household in Rye, NY, inheriting four new stepsons, aged fourteen to twenty-two. In 1969, newlyweds Barbara and Allyn spent a year aboard the SS Hope, a floating humanitarian aid hospital and medical training facility docked in Tunis, Tunisia. While Allyn served as the Medical Director, Barbara was the project’s Community Relations Director and was tasked with hosting delegations of domestic and international dignitaries. After returning stateside, she and Allyn moved to Ithaca, NY, which would remain her home for more than four decades. There they welcomed two additional children, Brad in 1975, and Marcie in 1976.

In Ithaca, Barbara pursued her love of international travel while working as a travel agent and planning many family adventures. She was a committed volunteer in her children’s schools, and at Hospicare and Planned Parenthood. Barbara had a sharp intellect and loved hosting parties including marathon games of bridge with Allyn and friends. She was also an active member of the Ithaca Yacht Club, First Congregational Church, and Ithaca Bridge Club. Her true passion was always her family to whom she dedicated most of her energy and focus (including her beloved series of long-haired German Shepherds).

Despite living with Parkinson’s disease for the final two decades of her life, she continued traveling around the US and abroad. Among the many sojourns she embarked on were two long trips to Asia with her son Brad, vacationing in France with son Doug and his family, cruising the Nile in Egypt with daughters Marcie and Melinda, and countless visits to family spread across the US. In 2017, she reunited with an old flame and relocated to Pacific Grove, California to be closer to her children and grandchildren on the West Coast. There, she continued to play bridge and took up photography, joining a local club and winning an award for Best Travel photo. As her mobility declined, she spent her final four years of life in her daughter Marcie’s home, surrounded by her grandchildren’s laughter and the love of her family.

She is survived by her children Bryson, David, Chris, Melinda, Brad and Marcie; her grandchildren, Colin, Duncan, Casey, Jenny, Max, Desmond, Juno, Atlas, Lilly, and Sienna; and her great-granddaughters, Sydney, Evvie and Lucy. Her husband, Allyn, her sister, Judy Goble Calvert and her stepson, Doug, predeceased her.

Memorial service details will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Planned Parenthood or the Michael J Fox Foundation.