Barbara Bie – April 4, 2009

Barbara Jane Bie

Barbara Jane Bie,

79, passed away Saturday, April 4 in her home in Edmonds Washington after a long illness.

Barbara was born in Sacramento, California to Alice and Clarence Anable. The baby of the family, Barbara had two brothers and two sisters. Her father died when she was only 18 months old and she and siblings were raised by her single mother in the depression years. Times were hard but Barbara was surrounded by the love of her siblings.

At 20, Barbara was married to her first husband, Charles Barker. They were married for 14 years, had two children, Andrew and Kathleen. Once the children were of school age, Barbara began her career in real estate. She was a real estate agent and then moved up to become an Escrow officer.

In 1971, Barbara married the love of her life, Alf Bie and spent many happy years with him. During those years, Barbara also faced breast cancer and tongue cancer but was victorious over both. Barbara and Alf loved boating and spending time with their friends. They often took their boat, the “Bie and Bie” out of the Shilshole marina on fishing trips or leisurely jaunts to the San Juans. Alf and Barbara were active members of the Norwegian Seamen’s Club in Ballard, where Barbara acted as secretary for many years. Barbara loved music and she would often sing at open-mike nights at local restaurants.

Alf’s passing in 1998 was a very difficult time in Barbara’s life and she became severely depressed. After spinal surgery in 2000, Barbara was unable to walk, or feed, or dress herself. She bravely faced physical and occupational therapy to bring herself to being fully independent again. Unfortunately, a bad decision to take herself off antidepressants “cold turkey” resulted in serious mental confusion that eventually lead to her hospitalization again. Again, Barbara overcame her problems with the help of her doctors and returned to her home in Ballard. Barbara was determined to stay in her home as long as she could and it wasn’t until 2004 that she moved to an assisted living situation, when she could no longer safely live alone. A choking event shortly after moving to the assisted living facility sent Barbara to the hospital again. She had severe damage to her lungs and the doctors gave her less than 10 days to live. However, Barbara woke up one day in the hospice hospital and told her daughter, “I want to stay.”  And stay she did, Barbara moved into the Lake Serene Adult Family Home where she recovered enough to graduate from the hospice program. She was happy and well cared for by her caregivers, and she formed a close bond with her caregiver and friend Gloria. She received weekly visits from her son Andrew, Daughter Kathleen, and her granddaughter Elena. She continued to thrive in this loving environment until fall of 2008 when she was once again put in the hospice program when her condition worsened. Through the many ups and downs in Barbara’s life she always maintained her sense of humor and her love for her family.

In final days, Barbara was able to say her good-byes and express her gratitude, contentment, and happiness. The hospice nurse who was with Barbara at the time of her passing said that Barbara was not in pain and passed peacefully in her sleep. Barbara made her transition quickly with the help of her loved ones on the other side.

Barbara was preceded in death by her father and mother, her brothers Bill and Ed and her sister Mary. Barbara was survived by her son Andrew and her daughter Kathleen, her granddaughters Emily and Elena, her great grandchildren, Coby, Holly, Janey, and Joey. Her sister Janet, and her nieces Claudia, Judy, Debbie, Penny and Davery and her nephew Tim, also survive her.

A small memorial service is planned for warmer weather. Her son and daughter plan to scatter her ashes in Puget Sound where she spent some of her happiest days with her beloved husband Alf.