Barbara Eileen (Crowder) Armstrong was born during the height of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl in Prowers County, Colorado on the 10th of October 1934. Barbara passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loved ones at the Foothills Hospital in Boulder, Colo., on the 24th of March 2025.
Barbara’s pioneer roots led her to live a life of breaking norms and societal barriers. As a young girl she worked beside her father on their farm, where her tomboy personality thrived, and thus embarked a life-long love of animals; of outdoor pursuits such as camping and fishing; and a zestful delight in traveling near and far.
Barbara excelled in school, attending first the country school of Waverley, graduating from Alamosa High School in 1952, and attending Western State College on a band scholarship.
Her love of music came from both her father Howard, and brother Dwight. However, her true love was books and reading. She was a voracious reader, and later became a bookstore owner, and a librarian.
Her library of books were well into several thousand of every genre, but especially Colorado history. As a bookstore owner she became known as a haven for local authors, and bibliophiles alike. She was the most well-read person we, and most people in her orbit ever knew. Her intelligence surpassed most, in both academics and in life.
Barb was a highly empathetic person, guiding many people — young and old — through their problems. She was very liberal-minded as well, having friends from all walks of life. Our household was blessed with friends from multiple cultures, ethnicities, and sexual orientations — she loved people.
Barbara lived in several towns and states in her long life; she lived her early life in eastern Colorado, but grew up on a resettlement program home in the Waverley district southwest of Alamosa. When she was 5, a photographer from the Farm Security Administration came to their farm, where he was documenting families in rural America. Barbara was not in school as her three older siblings were, so she was included in the shoot, and those photos today are located in Washington D.C. at the Library of Congress, and online.
After living in Cortez and Idaho for several years, Barbara raised her children in Durango, Colo.; lived many years in the mining town of Leadville, Colo.; but her favorite residence was the year she lived with her youngest daughter and grandson, and nearby her other daughter on the Kona side on the Big Island of Hawai’i. She was a natural in the water, and spend most days off with grandson Ian at her favorite beach, Anaehoomalu Bay, swimming and snorkeling. She explored many of the islands whilst living or visiting Hawai’i, and one memorable time hiked into an active lava flow at night with her then 91-year-old father Howard, sister Thelma, and with three of her children and grandchildren. In 2022, three of her children, along with their partners and grandchildren, took Barb back to the Big Island, and she basked in the ocean one last time. She traveled the length and breadth of the UK, exploring the settings of many favorite books, and reveling in the history of her ancestors. She traveled into France, Mexico, and Canada; to Alaska on a cruise with her sister, brother and sister-in-law; and across the entire country. She was also present at the Space Shuttle Discovery STS-95 mission.
As a single mother much of her life she broke glass ceilings refusing to be paid less her worth than the men doing equal jobs. Along with being a bookstore owner and librarian, she was the second in command at the Ford dealership in Durango, La Plata motors; was a bookkeeper, cook, bar manager, and popcorn maker for the local ski club at Copper Mountain — one of her favorites for people watching.
She was highly involved in her children’s life through her 90 years. In Durango, she introduced her children to the local library, starting them on a life-long love of reading; she was the den mother for her two son’s Cub Scouts den; placed her children into swimming lessons each summer; got them into ice skating; found used ski equipment for her children to learn the sport, which translated into her competitive kids skiing for the Durango High School in cross-country skiing. She attended all local ski meets to assist with timing races, race results and was proactive in coordinating fundraising. She proudly encouraged and supported her son Glenn and daughter Donna competitively ski all over the country. She also attended all her children’s track meets, band programs, and assorted activities through the years.
She was known throughout our large family as Auntie BaBa. Her moniker came after many years of taking her 4 children, and her 1 niece and 7 nephews on an annual camp trip at the Rock Creek campground in Rio Grande County, along with her sister Thelma, and their mother Olivia. An infamous trip came one year whereas we were the only campers up at the campground, and were without a vehicle. Our mom was known for her whistle — when it blew, you came running. With all the kids out of camp, the three adults were enjoying a early evening drink, when a bear rambled by the camp. The whistle blew a frantic pace until all kids were accounted for, and then we were fed and crammed into two campers for the night. Thus ended the camp trip for that year — but talked about to this day!
Barbara had a great love of football, and was an avid Broncos and Cleveland Browns supporter. Her time working the popcorn wagon at Copper Mountain ski area (where she was known as Popcorn Barb), she got to know John Elway and Carl Mecklenburg, as they bought popcorn often.
Things that Barbara was known for: beating everyone on any given day at Jeopardy; beating most at the word-game Boggle; watching and then singing songs from musicals; camping — with a crowd or alone. She was known for her biting wit; standing up vehemently when being wronged, or seeing a loved-one wronged. She was a great among many strong women in the family, coining the term Tough Old Broads (TOBs) for herself, sister, aunt and cousins when they traveled to places in Colorado for many years. She was also well known for her many nuggets of advice on life, that resonate in so many people to this day.
Barbara is survived by many loved ones: her children: Glenn (Debora) Terrell; Donna Terrell; Karen (Kevin) Gifford; Greg Terrell; grandchildren: Ian Gifford; Avery Terrell; Hilary Terrell; Hannah Krieg Stewart; and Heidi Krieg; her sister, best friend and travel partner, Thelma Cooper; her loving sister-in-law Anne Crowder; her amazing 101 years old aunt, BJ Peden. Barbara is also survived by a plethora of nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews, and great-great-nieces and nephews. She is survived by Cherry and Peden cousins; by her friend and first husband Vern Terrell; and long-time friend and travel partner Gary Hanks. Special recognition goes to her niece Kathleen Crowder Johnson who made her final years living alone both enjoyable and feasible.
Barbara was preceded in death by her parents, Howard and Olivia Crowder; brothers, Dwight and Roland; her long-time friend and partner Buddy Woods; and a long list of cats, including Mickey, her very favorite feline companion.
A celebration of Barbara’s life will be held in the coming months at her favorite campsite, Rock Creek — now enjoyed by the 7th generation of our Crowder and Cherry family. A second, more intimate celebration will be on the Big Island of Hawai’i in the coming year. In lieu of anything, please read a book — especially if it has mountains, or England, or cats in the storyline. Barbara would smile.
She will be tremendously missed by her children.
Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/collections/fsa-owi-black-and-white-negatives/?q=howard+crowder.
