Barbara Jill Berggren

Barbara Jill (Mitchell) Berggren was born on December 7, 1955 in El Paso, Texas to Charles E. and Ella Marie Mitchell. She passed away peacefully at home with family on Monday December 23, 2024 in Golden, Colorado at the age of 69 from heart failure.
Barbara (also known as Barb, BJ, and Jill) attended school in Texas, California, and Colorado and took advantage of the various activities and environments of each location. In her youth, Barbara enjoyed riding horses and her time as a trail guide near Estes Park, Colorado. She was a science fiction fan early in her life, and the advent of Star Trek generated a life-long interest in science, space, and technology. Barbara became an avid and accomplished skier while attending college. For a period of time after college, she worked as a ski technician in Denver and Vail and helped to lay a foundation for women in what was then a non-traditional role.
Barbara was devastated by the death of her oldest brother Mark in Vietnam. She often recounted her brother's escapades growing up as well as the kind things that he did for his little sister. Barbara always had a deep respect for the military service and sacrifices of her brother Mark and her father Charles, who was a decorated WWII and Korean war veteran. Barbara and her mother "Marie" remained close and provided support to each other during the many good and occasionally challenging times together in Colorado.
Barbara developed interest in the Russian language during the cold-war while attending Jefferson County public schools in Colorado. She maintained that interest and went on to earn a Bachelor's degree in Russian from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1977 and completed additional Russian language studies at Middlebury College in Vermont. She then took chemistry and science courses at University of Colorado, Denver while working as a research technician and laboratory analyst for energy and mineral resources companies. She founded a technical Russian translation company, and for several years she served the needs of a number of corporate and government libraries in support of minerals, metals, and renewable energy research. She very much enjoyed translating and the associated interactions with clients. The conclusion of the cold war and the advancement of automated translation techniques brought a close to this chapter in her life.
Barbara met her husband, Mark, at work and found many common interests. Barbara and Mark married in 1982 in Golden, Colorado. They remained in Colorado throughout their careers and enjoyed local recreational and cultural opportunities while also traveling throughout the U.S. and internationally. Barbara always enjoyed planning travel whether to visit family and friends or to explore new places. She always wanted to learn about not only the destination but all points along the way.
Barbara and Mark were thrilled with the arrival of their daughter Isabella and were excited to navigate through the process of raising a child. Barbara was always seeking opportunities to enrich the life experiences of Isabella as well as other children in her orbit. She also liked to keep track of the activities and education of her nephew and niece and other relatives as they grew into adulthood. While Isabella was attending schools in the Denver area, Barbara enthusiastically volunteered to support the education of all students. In one particularly satisfying volunteer activity, she led the effort to install rooftop solar panels at the school Isabella attended. That effort took advantage of opportunities to learn about sustainable environmental activities by including students from diverse backgrounds throughout the design, installation, and operational phases of the project.
Barbara and her husband Mark bought their first home in the foothills near Golden, Colorado. She led design and remodeling efforts on each of the three homes that the family moved into over their forty plus years together on Lookout Mountain, and she performed much of the work herself. Barbara had great interest in plants and gardening and enjoyed installation of landscaping at each home the family moved to. She had a vision for each unique location and installed plants and trees appropriate for each microclimate. She knew the common and Latin names of most plant species in Colorado. In later years, she entered the Colorado State University Extension Certified Gardener Program, where she earned many gardening and design certificates. She then started and operated a sustainable landscape design business and took pleasure in transforming residential yards and gardens into visually-appealing and water-wise environments for her clients. She maintained her skills by participating in courses and conferences through the Association of Professional Landscape Designers. In all her endeavors, Barbara enjoyed the process and personal interactions as much as the final product.
Barbara enjoyed the companionship and antics of family pets, which at one time included a Great Dane mix, a Coonhound, and a Maine Coon Cat all together in a small house.
Barbara was a Christian raised in the Methodist Church, but she was always interested in ways that religion can provide spiritual support for people of different faith. She sought common ground with those from different backgrounds and beliefs that could be leveraged for the benefit of all.
Barbara was preceded in death by her brother Mark D. Mitchell, father Charles E. Mitchell, and her mother, Ella Marie Mitchell. She is survived by her husband, Mark H. Berggren and daughter Isabella Perris Berggren of Golden, Colorado, brother Dr. Robert B. Mitchell and sister-in-law Dr. Honor Franklin of Dallas, Texas, nephew Hahn Franklin-Mitchell and niece Sullivan Franklin-Mitchell and her husband Robert Ehrlich, her brother-in-law Philip C. Berggren, and many other relatives and friends.
Barbara would be pleased with memorial donations made to any charity of interest. She particularly liked organizations supportive of veterans, the environment, and humanitarian issues.
There will be a private burial service at Golden Cemetery, and a public Celebration of Life Service on Saturday, May 3rd, 1PM at the Golden Community Center in the Clear Creek Room.