Barbara Gay Bovey

She was born on May 6, 1933 in Minneapolis Minnesota to Charles and Una Barnot, and was raised with her older brother, Tom. Her family relocated to Denver Colorado soon after she graduated from high school at Maplewood Academy and attended one year of college at Union College in Nebraska. She married the love of her life, Dick Bovey, when she was just 19 years old. By the time she was 24, she was raising three boys; Steve, Chuck and Brian. According to her sons, she was the best mom any kid could ask for. Even though she made them take baths and do chores, she was loving and kind, and fun to be around. She had a zest for life which was contagious to anyone around her. I know that many of you have unofficially adopted her as your mom too, and she has unofficially adopted many of you as her son or daughter because she loved you so much and she loved being a mom.

She lived to be 93 years old, but it is not the quantity of years that we want to recognize, today, but the quality of her journey. She was many things to many people; daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, neighbor, aunt, and friend to anyone who was lucky enough to cross her path. In all of those roles she was loving, kind, thoughtful, honest, trustworthy and loyal. That doesn’t mean she was perfect. There have been moments of forgetfulness, like the time she forgot to pick up her youngest son Brian from kindergarten as he waited outside in a snow storm. But Brian wasn’t worried. Once he was inside her warm car, he turned to her and said, “I knew you would come.” And there have been moments of frustration and anger. One incident involved a cake that had to be peeled off the ceiling of the kitchen when the boys were very young and probably misbehaving. But no one can question her motives or intentions.

Barb’s eldest son, Steve, shared a story of when he was a teenager, and a little overly concerned about his image to others. Barb made a poster that said, “Reputation is what people think you to be. Character is what you are.” That poster has been an inspiration to Steve his entire life, but it was his mom’s character that has inspired him the most. She always led by example, and I suspect that she has been a source of inspiration to many of us.

She had an unconditional love for others that is so rare, and nothing was more fun to her than making a new friend. One of her most frequent phrases was “I just met the nicest person!” To her, making a new friend was like finding a treasure, and I think many of us know what it felt like to be treasured as one of Barb’s friends. Even in her later years, she would put on the brakes of her wheelchair and would not leave the church or potluck until she talked with one more person, then one more person, and so on and so on.

Barb’s most difficult life challenge occurred when her husband, Dick, passed away due to a brain tumor on March 7, 2000 just a week before their 47th wedding anniversary. It took time but she got through it thanks to her strong Christian faith, support from friends and family, and the adoption of a new puppy named Sophie. Eleven years later, Barb herself nearly died on a cold winter morning when she was headed to church. She lost control of her Volkswagen bug on an icy mountain highway and hit a semi truck coming the opposite direction. Fortunately, the main impact hit Barb’s car just behind the driver seat and she was able to survive. Word of her accident spread quickly, so when Brian went to see her in the hospital, he had to wait his turn, just like Barb’s other treasured friends who were waiting in front of him.

Throughout her life, Barb was very active in her church. Whether it was teaching Sabbath school classes, singing in the choir, or serving on the Ways and Means Committee, she was always actively engaged. One of her favorite activities was participating in bible study groups, which she often hosted at her home. Barb lived her faith every day and was the source of her strength and joy.

Three words that sum up her life: Loving, Happy, and Compassionate