Barbara L. "Barb" Baese

Barbara Louise “Barb” Baese peacefully passed away at age 95 on April 28, 2025, at Frasier Meadows Retirement Community in Boulder, Colorado, where she was a resident since 2009.

Barb was born in 1929 in Fort Collins, Colorado. She was raised near Red Feather Lakes Village at Parvin Lake where her father was superintendent of the Colorado State Fisheries Research Station and Hatchery. The family moved to Ft. Collins in 1940, where Barb graduated from Ft. Collins High School in 1947. She then attended Colorado A&M, now Colorado State University, where she met her husband, Carrol L. Baese. The couple moved to Boulder in 1952. Mr. Baese, an engineer with Beech Aerospace, predeceased her at age 43 on September 28, 1973.

In 1974, Barb joined the University of Colorado Purchasing Department. She retired from CU after 20 years of service as the first woman manager of the campus Construction Stores.

Barb enjoyed gardening, hiking, skiing, sewing, knitting, crocheting, weaving, felting, and jigsaw puzzles, and was an accomplished landscape painter. Barb travelled extensively with her best friend of 50 years, Eloise St. John; the inseparable pair often playing cards on a daily basis.

While a Frasier Meadows Retirement Community resident, Barb was a regular volunteer in many areas. Additionally, she volunteered at the Boulder Community Health gift shop from its opening in 2003 until 2015.

Barb is survived by her son, Geary Baese of Fort Collins; her daughter, Lorrie Letchworth of Arvada; her sister, Betty Sigmon of La Mesa, California; 2 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren; and her dear friend, Eloise. Private family services will be held.

In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to Trailwinds Hospice Foundation, 4710 Table Mesa Dr., Suite B; Boulder, CO 80305.