Barbara Yalden-Thomson

Barbara

Yalden-Thomson

Barbara Yalden-Thomson, of Earlysville, Virginia, died on Friday, November 2, 2012, at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, Virginia.

She was born on September 13, 1921, in Manila in the Philippine Islands. She graduated from Dana Hall School and Wellesley College in Massachusetts before moving to Washington, D.C., where she served as a code breaker in the United States Navy during World War II.

She was married to Truman A. Botts in 1944 and lived in Newark, Delaware, briefly before moving to Charlottesville in 1949. Her husband was a member of the faculty of the Mathematics Department at the University of Virginia and she was for several years an instructor of Spanish at the University and a violist in the UVA orchestra, as well as a devoted mother of their two children.

In 1961, she was remarried to David C. Yalden-Thomson, a Professor in the Philosophy Department at the University of Virginia. The couple moved to Clunie Farm in Earlysville, where Barbara lived for almost 50 years. She enjoyed living on the farm, entertaining friends there, riding her horses, and managing a small cut-you-own Christmas tree business. Barbara (and David until his death) spent every summer at their cottage on the Isle of Raasay in Scotland.

At age 62 she obtained a Master's degree in Counseling from the University of Virginia. For the next 20 years she worked as a counselor in Charlottesville, mainly with Children Youth and Family Services (CYFS). She later served as a board member with CYFS and as a volunteer with the Court Appointed Special Advocate program and the University of Virginia Medical Center.

Barbara was predeceased by her husband, David; and her brothers, Edward Bishop of Hilton Head, South Carolina, and John Bishop of Boston/Nantucket, Massachusetts.

She is survived by her daughter, Margaret Botts Smith and husband, Paul Smith, of Charlottesville; and her son, Stephen Botts and wife, Jean Botts, of Earlysville. In addition, she is survived by her two grandchildren, William Botts of Richmond, Virginia, and Molly Giesbrecht and husband, Heath Giesbrecht, of College Station, Texas.

A memorial service is to be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to CYFS.


This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.