Harriet Lewis Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Harriet Ann Lewis – 1930-2022 Harriet Ann Lewis died peacefully as she slept in her apartment in Park Terrace (Rancho Santa Margarita, California) on June 10th, 2022, just days after her 92nd birthday. Her husband Bink and three adult children (Margaret, Don, and Dale) were able to be with her during her last days of alertness, along with some grandchildren and great-grandchildren. On June 6, 1930, Horace Fletcher and Lizzie Youtz were surprised to finally have a little girl, after having five boys! Little Harriet Ann Youtz quickly learned to keep up with her older brothers on the family farm just outside of the little town of Burns, Wyoming, where they didn’t have electricity or running water till 1945. They attended the Burns Presbyterian Church, and in high school Harriet made a commitment to Jesus Christ. She loved to sing and play the piano, and often accompanied the hymns in their church. She played the baritone in the school band and was also a cheerleader. In 1949 she went to the University of Wyoming in Laramie, and majored in Elementary Education and played in the UW band. During her freshman year, she met music major Allen Barkley, and they were married in 1950. Allen was a music teacher, and he taught in various small towns in Wyoming, and later became a guidance counselor. Harriet and Allen had three children, Margaret, Don, and Dale, all born in Wyoming. Harriet enjoyed arts and crafts with her children, and sewing clothes, costumes, and curtains for each of the 20 homes that Allen and Harriet lived in during the 24 years of their marriage. Along the way Harriet did some volunteer teaching in preschools and Head Start programs, and decided to continue work on her education degree when they moved to Sheridan, where she enrolled in the junior college. When they moved to Laramie, she returned to UW (her alma mater) to complete her degree in elementary education. After graduation, she began her professional teaching career, mainly teaching 4th grade in Slade Elementary School. While teaching there, she worked on her master’s degree, specializing in elementary math education, with a focus on development of hands-on math games to help kids learn while having fun! In each town where they lived, Harriet was active in church, using her talents in teaching, music, and art to minister to children and adults. After retiring from teaching, she focused more time on her art, winning awards for watercolors and pastels. She was also an active member of P.E.O. Allen and Harriet were divorced in 1974, and Harriet married Ward Smith in 1975. Just 11 years later, Ward passed away from brain cancer in 1986, and in 1989 she began seeing Bink (Howard) Lewis, whom she knew through mutual friends. They both benefited from Beginning Experience (B.E.) weekends, which helped them deal with the pain of losing spouses through divorce and death. Harriet and Bink married in 1990, and they lived in Longmont, Colorado. While there, they became trained B.E. facilitators, and Harriet also became a peer grief counselor. They enjoyed traveling together to see their grandkids, including several trips to Mexico, where son Dale and his family were missionaries. In 2016 they moved to Laguna Woods to be closer to Harriet’s son Don and his family. Then in 2019 they moved into Park Terrace in Rancho Santa Margarita, where Bink still resides. Harriet is preceded in death by her parents Fletcher and Lizzie, her step-mother Lela, her second husband Ward, and all five of her brothers. She is survived by her three children (Margaret, Don, Dale) and their spouses, along with eleven grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. She was also blessed to have some very special “bonus” children (Ward’s daughters Deborah and Robin, and Bink’s daughter Holly). A memorial service is tentatively being planned for sometime in the fall of 2022. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to any of the following organizations in Harriet's memory: - P.E.O. International - https://www.peointernational.org/ - Westview Presbyterian Church in Longmont, Colorado - https://westviewpres.org/ - Beginning Experience - https://beginningexperience.org/ - Wycliffe Bible Translators - https://www.wycliffe.org/ - Search National - https://searchnational.org/ - Act Blue - https://secure.actblue.com/donate/web-donate - Slade Elementary School - 1223 E. Shield, Laramie Wy 82072, note on check: in memory of Harriet Lewis

Harriet Lewis

June 6, 1930 - June 10, 2022

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