Barbara Warden

Barbara L’Heureux Warden passed on Monday, July 21, 2025, at Wesley Des Moines (Washington), which had been her home with her husband Fred for the previous five years.

She was born on May 28, 1939, in Plainfield, New Jersey, and spent her early childhood in neighboring Westfield. Her adolescence was spent in Middlebury, Vermont, where she was valedictorian of the Middlebury High School graduating class of 1957. She took her senior class secretary obligations very seriously, organizing and attending class reunions every five to ten years deep into the 21st century! In recognition of her extraordinary dedication, she was inducted into the Middlebury High School Hall of Fame in 2008.

She earned her Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Connecticut in 1961. Enticed by Alaska’s ambitious teacher recruitment efforts, and up for an adventure, Barb accepted relocation expenses and a substantial signing bonus, and began teaching third grade in Anchorage in the fall of 1961. It was there that she met the love of her life. It was a whirlwind romance, with Barb accepting Fred’s marriage proposal only weeks after they met. They were wed on Christmas Eve of 1962, and remained happily so until the day Barb passed.

As soon as Fred’s Army commitment was up, the couple moved to his hometown of Seattle, where they took up residence in the home Fred grew up in. There they put down roots, raised their family, and were active in the Highland Park community, church, and Scouting for decades.

Regarding vocation, Barb wished to be remembered as a school teacher, a proud stay-at-home mom for 14 years, and finally as an administrative assistant at a boutique accounting firm for another 14 years. She “retired” at the end of 1991, but hardly slowed down.

She provided daycare for her young grandchildren for several years. For more than 25 post-retirement years she dedicated extensive time and resources to numerous non-profits and public service entities. Among those that benefited the most from Barb’s lifelong commitment to public service were the New Road Map Foundation, the White Center Food Bank, the White Center and Covington branches of the King County Library, and the Red Cross knitting club she belonged to in her later years. Such was the quality and quantity of her long-term dedication to the King County Library System that she was inducted into the Covington branch’s affiliated Friends of the Library Hall of Fame.

Barb was a lifelong advocate for protecting nature and the environment, and for securing equal civil rights for everyone. She was a member of Greenpeace, NARAL, and the ACLU, among others, for many years. She enjoyed playing piano and organ, singing in her church’s vocal choir, and playing in the church’s handbell choir. She loved animals, and particularly cherished the companionship of cats, with whom she shared her heart and homes for all but the last few months of her life.

Barb is survived by her husband of nearly 63 years, Fredric Warden, her sons Robert and Brian, her daughters-in-law Grace and Sunah, and her grandchildren Kenneth, Carson, and Terran, and their partners. Barb was unfailingly caring, kind, and steady in her love and leadership. Her way of being was an unpretentious inspiration and example for those fortunate to know her well, and they will never forget her.