Barbara Boggs Barringer

February 16, 1927 - October 21, 2018

Mom, Wife, Teacher, Skier, Seamstress, Calligrapher, Ultimate Rockies Fan

Barbara M. (Boggs) Barringer (91) passed away at her home on Sunday October 21, 2018,

surrounded by her family. Born February 16, 1927, she was a life-long Denver area resident. Barbara graduated from North High School in 1945. That fall, she enrolled at the University of Denver with plans to study Engineering. When told by an advisor that there was “no place for women in the field”, she transferred to the University of Colorado/Boulder in 1947.

Barbara was a founding member of the CU-Boulder chapter of the Kappa Delta Sorority. She completed her degree in Math & Physics, graduating in 1949 with a teaching certificate. Her career began that year. One of her students was an aspiring young singer named Judy Collins. After teaching Mathematics and raising a family, Barbara served for 18 years on the staff of US Congressman & Senator Timothy Wirth.

Her responsibilities included helping to organize the annual Wirth Washington Seminar, which focused on bi-partisan solutions in Communications, Defense, Education, Foreign Policy, Health Care & Technology. Each invitation, name tag & place card at the Conference was exquisitely lettered in Mom’s hand. As she would say, “That was before computers came out.”

And then there was baseball! In 1993, Senator Wirth was instrumental in convincing Major League Baseball to grant Denver the Rockies franchise. In her later years, watching them play became something of an obsession. She affectionately called the men in Purple “her boyfriends.”

Mom was a pioneer in women’s athletics as a member of the DU club ski team. Dad decided after they met at CU that he had to learn to ski if he’d have any chance to capture her heart. After they married, they were members of the Colorado Ski Runners, one of the first ski clubs in the State. The club organized the Frisco Gold Rush in 1970, Colorado’s oldest Cross Country race. Mom & Dad have had a winter home at Copper Mountain since it opened in 1972. Until slowed by health problems past age 80, the couple continued to ski with a club called the Over the Hill Gang.

On August 19, 1951, Barbara married Paul Barringer of Lynchburg, VA. Our Dad still resides in their Golden, CO home. She is survived by her sister, Ruth O’Neill of Denver,CO; four children: John (Betsy) and James Barringer of Lakewood & Golden, CO; Mary Ann Fiechtner (Michael) of Poway, CA; Paula Parker (Sam) of Frisco, CO; and five grandchildren: Paul and Thomas Fiechtner of Poway, CA; Spencer Barringer of NewYork, NY; Ian and Anne Parker of Denver, CO & Bozeman, MT.

Barbara was a founding member of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Lakewood. She was a frequent attendee at Saturday evening services during the Winter months. After the

liberalizations of Vatican II, Saturday’s night Mass was considered equal to any held on Sunday. So, she could ski the next day with a clear conscience. And being in the mountains made Barbara feel just a little bit closer to Heaven.

She had remarkable talent given a pattern and a sewing machine. In an era of consumerism and mass marketing, she made many of her family’s clothes. Classmates would ask her daughters, “Where did you get that outfit?” They’d answer proudly, “My Mom made it!” When they were married, both daughters walked down the aisle in a dress that was designed and lovingly hand stitched by their mother.

That was the Mom we knew - smart, hard working and kind. She was grateful for the many gifts God had given her, and she shared them generously. Her moral code was guided by faith and informed by reason. Her core was strong, but her touch was soft. Barbara taught us how to do life. She loved her family, and we loved her. Now and forever, we will miss her every day.

Mass of Christian Burial October 29, 2018 at 11:00 AM at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, Lakewood, Colorado.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made in her honor to an educational charity of your choice.