Barbara Kathryn Gosvenor

Barbara Kathryn Gosvenor, 59, of Boise, formerly of Nampa, died on Saturday, October 27, 2012 at a Boise care facility. Barbara was born May 30th, 1953 in Bremerton, Washington to Louis and Kathryn Gosvenor. She spent most of her youth in the Southern California area, moving to Kuna, Idaho in 1963 when Louis retired from military service. She attended schools in Kuna until her sophomore year when she moved with her family to Bremerton. There she spent one year each at East High School and West High School, then moved back to Idaho and graduated from Melba High School in 1971. Barbara carried on the military tradition in the family by enlisting in the Army immediately after graduating. She took basic training at Fort Jackson, Alabama then was a company clerk at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Denver, Colorado. She was then transferred to Schofield Barracks on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, where she continued to serve as a company clerk. In 1975 she qualified for her dream job. She was transferred to Columbia, South Carolina where she served as a Drill Instructor, training new recruits. Physical issues later resulted in her being transferred to first the Pentagon, then to Fort Huachuca, Arizona, where she remained for the rest of her military career. In 1977 Barbara was diagnosed with schizophrenia and granted a medical discharge six months later. She moved in with her brother Bill and his wife Anna for several months then into a house of her own near them. Both families moved back to Caldwell in 1978 then Nampa in 1988, where she resided until she moved into a care facility in Boise in 2012. Barb fought against her illness for over three decades with the help of her family and the wonderful staff at the Boise VA Medical Center. Unable to work, she filled her time with reading, listening to music and taking care of her beloved dogs, Willy and Sam. Barbara spent many hours with her brother and sister-in-law, Bill and Anna. Anna took her shopping and went places with her weekly and she spoke with them on the phone daily. She doted on her nephew, Bill Gosvenor Jr. and enjoyed many shopping trips to "the mall" with him. After his death in 2006 Bill's daughter, Charlotte Gosvenor, and her parents, Amanda and Dirk Smith of Boise, became a very important focus in her life. Other family members who she enjoyed spending time with were Carol and Harold Pline and her "adopted" niece and nephews Sarah and Matthew Richmond and Mark Pline. At her request no funeral service will be held. There will be a viewing at Accent Funeral Home 1303 N. Main St. in Meridian on November 2nd from 6:00 – 9:00 PM. Remembrances may be left online at www.AccentFuneral.com.