April 27, 1942 - November 02, 2020
Barbara Conway Scheaffer, 78, of Loveland passed away in her sleep on Monday, November 2, 2020 after a determined 18-month resistance to the progressive disabilities of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Barbara was born on April 27, 1942 to Thomas and Eleanor Conway of East Syracuse, New York. She was the second of five children. She grew up in East Syracuse and graduated from East Syracuse High School in 1960. She enrolled in the School of Home Economics at Cornell University and graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science degree in the field of textiles and clothing.
During her time at Cornell, Barbara met and married her husband of 56 years, Norman Charles Scheaffer of Atlantic City, New Jersey. After her graduation, Barbara took a job with the New York State Extension Service at Cornell until Norman finished his Masters in Chemical Engineering in 1967. Then it was off to Boston.
Barbara chose to raise a family instead of pursuing a textiles career. In September, 1967 she delivered a son, Patrick Nelson, and in August, 1970 a daughter, Diane Kathryn. Soon her skills in sewing and tailoring were focused on skirts, slacks and blouses, the inevitable window curtains, and a few memorable Halloween costumes that have survived to be used by Barbara’s two grandchildren, Roan and Rachel Pearse of Melbourne, Australia.
When her own children reached grade school age, Barbara returned to the classroom and obtained an Associate Degree in Medical Laboratory Technology from Middlesex Community College. After the family moved to Boulder, Colorado in 1978, Barbara put her new skill to work at the Longmont Clinic, the Boulder Medical Center, and the Boulder Hospital. In spite of her job, Barb was able to continue her output of fiber arts projects including numerous gift quilts for friends and family. Ultimately, fiber arts won out and Barb became involved in weaving after taking a job as traffic manager for local loom maker Schacht Spindle Company. Still later, she took a job sewing giant inflatable product replicas for another local company named Boulder Blimp.
After Norm’s retirement in 1998, Barb and Norm moved to the Pacific Northwest and settled in the city of Bellingham, Washington. Barb’s quilting reached new heights and her work was recognized with a Helping Hand Award from the Arthritis Foundation in 2007 and a Blue Ribbon at the NW Washington Fair in 2011. She also worked for two years at weaving custom designer rugs for Lark Textiles.
But their son was still in Colorado and the distance was too great for frequent family visits, so Barb and Norm returned to Colorado in 2017 and settled in Loveland. Their retirement plans were short-lived as Barbara was diagnosed with ALS in 2019.
Barbara is survived by her husband Norman, of Loveland, her son Patrick of Longmont, her daughter Diane and husband Richard Pearse of Melbourne, Australia, her sisters Judy Conway of Albany, NY, Eileen Conway of La Mesa, CA, and Kristine and husband Daniel McGuire of Syracuse, NY, and her brother Thomas and wife Cathy Conway of Brighton, CO. A family memorial service will be held at a future date when the current pandemic has run its course. In the meantime, donations in her memory may be made to the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the ALS Association or your local chapter of ALS.
We would like to thank medical staff at UC Health, Encompass Health and Pathways Hospice for their loving care of Barbara during her final days.
Final arrangements are entrusted to Kibbey-Fishburn Funeral Home.
Cremation has been completed. No services are scheduled at this time.
Memorial contributions may be made to the ALS Association in care of Kibbey-Fishburn Funeral Home, 1102 N. Lincoln Avenue, Loveland, CO 80537
