Elizabeth Barrett

Elizabeth Anne Barrett, "Lizzie," died of cancer Friday, December 16, 2011, at her home in Durango. She had lived in Durango for the past 10 years. She was 61.

Lizzie was born February 4, 1950, in Norfolk, Va., to Henry and Violet Barrett. She earned an associate’s degree with honors from Prince George's Community College and a Certified Nurse's Assistant certificate. She served as a certified nurse's assistant in Connecticut and Arizona for more than two decades. She was passionate about creating and designing, and she owned her own small jewelry business, Etcetera, for two decades.

She donated what she could to a variety of progressive causes and served as a volunteer dog walker until she became disabled. She wrote and spoke extensively with family and close friends on various political issues and had it not been for her disability, would have been more active in various social causes.

She was very creative and loved music, particularly Bonnie Raitt, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Janice Joplin.

Her niece, Brooke Barrett, remembers: "My aunt Liz didn't believe in living with blind positivity -- she was a realist. When she was truly happy, you could see it all over her face, when she was angry, you knew it (and you knew why -- it was always for a good reason) and when she laughed you knew it was genuine. Her presence in my life always came at the right times -- when my mom left, she was there to support my Dad and take care of the 3 year-old me; when I needed someone who would tell me the honest truth -- no matter how brutal-- she did it; and when I had some life success, no matter how big or small, she celebrated it. I am so grateful to have been influenced and loved by her.

Her brother, Ken Barrett, says of his sister: “Liz was always politically active—and for a while, we disagreed on a lot. When her hair was long and she returned from Woodstock with her brand-new Ford Maverick’s roof caved in and it reeked of odd smells, my hair was short and I believed in things like “fiscal responsibility” and voting for Nixon instead of LBJ. But as we grew older, over the course of many long phone conversations with Liz (and with some help from my daughter, Brooke) she began to tap into the other sides of me and before I knew it, Liz and I were watching Meet the Press together, voting for and defending President Obama and discussing the Occupy Wall Street Movement. She was incredibly strong-willed, funny and you couldn’t help but be moved by her compassion and intelligence."

She is survived by her parents, Henry and Violet Barrett (Whittier, CA), sister and brother-in-law, Carl and Patricia Rumpp (Gladwyne, PA), brother, Kenneth Barrett (Eden Prairie, MN), niece, Brooke Barrett (Washington, DC), best friend, Tricia Gilpatrick (Acton, MA) and caregiver, Colleen Dicenzo (Durango, CO), as well as countless cousins.

A memorial service will be held on the water in Camden, Maine, in September 2012 with a Buddhist officiating.

In lieu of flowers, donations should be made in memory of Elizabeth Barrett to the Mercy Health Foundation Hospice Residence, 1010 Three Springs Blvd., Durango, Colorado 81301, Telephone: (970) 764-2800.