Barbara Papenfuss

Barbara Faye Frankman Papenfuss was born on November 22nd, 1934, in Seattle, Washington. She was blessed with two kind and loving parents, Al and Cemoria Frankman; three sisters, Lorraine, Joy, and Carol; and one brother, Alvas Jr. Along with spending time with her siblings, Barbara loved playing outdoors and any sport, especially basketball, and she was a champion at "King of the Hill." She later attended Foster High School in Renton, Washington, where she was named "Girl Athlete of the Year" her senior year.

Barbara received a scholarship to play basketball at Ricks College in Idaho for two years. During her college breaks, she worked in downtown Seattle as an elegantly dressed Nordstrom sales associate, offering sophisticated samples of perfume. After graduation, Barbara returned home to work as an administrative assistant at Boeing Aeronautics. During this time, she met her future husband, Bruce Papenfuss, who also worked at Boeing. After being stood up on their first two dates (Bruce had to attend last-minute church meetings), the third time was the charm, as Bruce took her to a Rainier baseball game, and on the way showed her pictures of the Mission Mountains in Montana, where he had grown up.

Barbara and Bruce were married in the Logan Utah Temple on March 22, 1957, and bought their first home in Seattle shortly thereafter. They loved this home and Bruce continued to work at Boeing while completing his master's degree in aeronautical engineering. During these years, they were blessed with two sons, Will and Tim. Barbara loved living close to her parents and sisters and thought she and Bruce were destined to live in Seattle, close to her family, forever. However, after Tim was born, she and Bruce made the decision to move to St. Ignatius, Montana, where Bruce began running the family hardware and building materials business.

In St. Ignatius, Barbara and Bruce built a new home and welcomed Barry, their third son in as many years. Raising three young sons during this time kept Barbara extremely busy, and her weekly phone calls to her mother kept a smile on her face. She also looked forward to visits from family members, especially her baby sister, Carol. She was also blessed to have her brother, Al, live down the block for a brief time during these early years. Three years after Barry was born, Barbara and Bruce welcomed their daughter, Erica, into their busy household, and Scott came along four-and-a-half years later to complete their family.

Love and devotion to family defined Barbara's life. Barbara spent hours helping her children with their homework and was always happy to use her skills to type up one of their reports. Although baking and cooking weren't her first loves, she happily baked seven to ten loaves of bread each week because her family preferred that bread over store-bought bread. Feeding people was one of Barbara's many love languages. Sharing a good dessert or candy from her well stocked cupboard was integral to a well lived life. To the end of her days, Barbara always had snacks and candy on the counter to make sure her guests felt loved.

Another of Barbara's loves was making sure her family was clean and neat in dress and appearance. Sometimes, the budget required thinking outside the box to accomplish this goal, but nobody could spot a bargain like Barbara. If there was a deal to be found, you can bet she'd find it and bring home gifts for the family. The bargains were most often clothing, but also items to beautify her home. On one occasion, the family traveled from Seattle to Montana surrounded by a car full of small juniper bushes, because she'd found a good deal. Nothing made her happier than when she had family around to spoil with love and gifts.

When grandchildren began to arrive, life couldn't have gotten much better. Barbara adored each and every one of her grandchildren and was always thrilled to share stories about their accomplishments. Her family believed that Barbara's picture should sit beside the definition of "Grandma" in the dictionary. She was always happy to let her grandchildren watch as many cartoons and eat as much ice cream and candy as they liked. When great-grandchildren began to arrive, her joy increased even further.

Barbara served in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints all of her life, as a youth teacher, head of local and stake Young Women's and Relief Society programs, and many, many other callings. She and Bruce also served missions for the church in Scotland and at the Family History Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Between the missions, she and Bruce served in the BYU Kennedy Program, teaching English and Business programs in China for two years. She loved the people wherever she served and felt very close to her savior, Jesus Christ. The service opportunities she embraced in these missions were some of the highlights of her life.

Later in life, Barbara was diagnosed with cancer, for which she received treatments for several years. Although the treatments were difficult, she continued to make a difference in the lives of other cancer patients with her positive energy. She felt called to lift the spirits of those going through such a hard time. To those who felt her love, she was an angel who helped them through one of the hardest points in their life. At the same time, Barbara had many amazing nurses and doctors who supported her through these later stages of life. She became close with each of them and counted nurses, including Tui, Lucy, Pam, Tiffany, and Shari, as close friends who she was grateful to have in her life. Our hearts (and thanks) go out to the many health care professionals who served Mom with compassion and thoughtfulness.

Barbara's life was defined by showing love to others, and she never hesitated to tell people she loved them. Her example of love and kindness touched countless lives and will continue to guide and inspire those who knew her.

Barbara is survived by Will (Trisha) Tyson, Breanna, Chase, Curtis; Tim (Darcy) Cameron, Colby, Jordan; Barry (Laurie) Dillon, Jessica, Daniel, Karli, Sydnee; Erica (Brett) Allen Zachary, Paige, Brock; Scott (Shawna), Serene, Leia, Kyrie, Kai, Ammon (former spouse, Junko), Cali, Josi, Tori, and Brad (Shawna); and twenty-three great grandchildren.

Funeral services for Barbara will be held on Monday, December 1, 2025 at 11 AM with a viewing prior from 10-10:45 AM at the River Ridge 8th Ward, 1409 W. Shields Lane, South Jordan, Utah 84095. Interment: Utah Veteran's Memorial Cemetery.