Barbara "Bobbie" Brown Ledgerwood

Barbara (Bobbie) Brown Ledgerwood, long-time resident of Durango, died August 25, 2023, where she resided at Sunshine Gardens in Durango. She was born October 13, 1924, to Alfred R. Brown and Annabelle Higgins Brown in rural Cambridge, Kansas. She attended schools in Cambridge, graduating high school in 1942. She was one of eight siblings.

On July 25, 1942, she married Billy L. Ledgerwood, Sr. who was also a CHS graduate. He was inducted into the U.S. Coastguard in November, 1942. Their first child, Billy, Jr., was born June 1943. She and Billy, Jr. welcomed Bill, Sr. home in January 1946. Two daughters, Julie and Nancy, were born while Bill, Sr. attended Southwestern College in Winfield, KS. Bobbie worked at J.C. Penney’s during that time. After graduation, Bill taught school and coached in Colorado and Kansas.

The couple later divorced and Bobbie moved to Durango, CO to be near her daughters. She worked for the San Juan Forest Service as an Information Specialist for 7 years. Bobbie always said, “It was my favorite job, other than the job as wife and mother.”

Bobbie had many interests and hobbies throughout her life: homemaking, gardening, family and family reunions, travel, writing, American history and genealogy. She was a proud member of the Sarah Platte Decker Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Durango; the Manikintown VA Chapter of the French Huguenot Society; and the Baptist church.

She wrote and self-published her life story (Secrets of a Cambridge Graduate) so her grandchildren could know first-hand about life during the Great Depression—life without running water, a flush toilet, or electricity. She revealed relatives that fought in WWII and as far back as the American Revolution.

Bobbie is survived by: daughter Julie (Scott) McCallister; brother Lynn (Bunny) Brown; daughter-in-law Janelle Wulf Ledgerwood; 8 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, and 7 great-great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents; Bill, Sr. (her husband of 42 years); her daughter Nancy L. Sperry; her son Billy L. Ledgerwood, Jr.; grandson Dale Hjermstad; and 6 siblings.

At a later date, a private gathering will be held in Durango with burial to follow in Cambridge Cemetery, Cambridge, KS.