Bess Browning Barrett

Elizabeth Browning Barrett (Bess), of Billings, MT, went to her home in heaven on January 15, 2024, at the age of 90. She was thought by many to be an angel in disguise because of her heart of pure gold; she tirelessly served others and lived to praise and thank God no matter what! The words from the hymn titled Blessed Assurance say it best: "This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long!" Bess had a clever sense of humor and was always filled with joy. She was an incredibly wonderful, loving, and devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. Bess was a best friend to her husband, each of her children, her sisters, and many others. She was greatly admired and often sought out for her wise counsel.
Bess was born on May 24, 1933, to Daniel and Cleo Browning of Miles City. She was the oldest of five children and grew up in a house filled with laughter, singing, and music. Her fondest memories were of times spent with her Grandmother Greer on her farm. Her grandmother sewed many of Bess's clothes, including beautiful formals with tiers of ruffles. Bess was a naturally gifted, brilliant musician! Because of her sight reading skills, a teacher told her she had the eyes of an eagle. She began taking piano lessons at age 6 and when she was 12 years old, she began accompanying the church choir at the Methodist Church (her mother was the choir director for 42 years). Word of Bess's incredible talent quickly spread, and her 7th grade teacher recruited her to become the pianist for the school choir. She soon began accompanying the high school choir, the School of Nursing's choir, and many other choirs (including plays and many other performances) too numerous to list. Bess was hired right out of high school to work in accounting at First National Bank. Because of her fast, excellent work, she was recruited by the owner of the Miles City Mercantile to be the assistant to Mr. Bertrand, the head bookkeeper. Bess married Verne McKinney and moved to a ranch near Cohagen and later moved back to Miles City. They had two children, Joel and Leslie. A year later, the pastor at the Methodist Church said, "We've elected you to be our new organist!" And Bess replied, "Well that's
great, but I don't even know how to play the organ!" So the church granted her two years of organ lessons and in 1962, she began her 56 year career as a church organist. "When a door opens, walk through it!" She later moved with her family to Billings and Bess became the organist at First United Methodist Church. While the church was being built, they held Sunday services at the Fox Theater. Her marriage to Verne ended, and she later married William Barrett and had one daughter, Kerrie. The new church was completed and a large pipe organ was donated. "It was exciting because you could add a majestic, loud trumpet sound (en chamade)
to the music when desired!" After taking a sabbatical to care for her mother, she became the organist at Evangelical United Methodist Church. Bess soon joined their gospel rock band: "Playing in the band was absolutely thrilling, and I loved all of the members of the band!" At the age of 85, her hands couldn't keep up with her, required too much soaking in bowls of ice, and she had to retire. "Everytime I played, I would say 'This is for the glory of God!' "
During the toughest time of her life, Bess experienced the Lord restoring her soul and giving her rest: "Back in 1965, God reached down and saved me. He changed my life! My prayers were many, mostly, 'God help me!' God, my Father, gave me a new understanding of the 23rd Psalm and I was in that pasture, wrapped in the green grass, which was the cloak of Jesus wrapped around me. God's Holy Spirit restored my soul. Praise the Lord!"
Bess is survived by her daughters, Leslie (Richard) Pangburn and Kerrie (Bob) Bonacci; daughter-in-law, Betty McKinney; grandson, Ryan (Stephanie) McKinney; granddaughters, Meghan (Bret) Heyneman, Emily French (Mike Colebank), and Ellen Bonacci; great grandson, Logan; great granddaughters, Jada, Emelia, and Sophia; brother, Mark Browning; and sisters, Marcia Entzel and Patti LeCraft. Bess was preceded in death by her parents, Daniel and Cleo Browning; husband, William Barrett; son, Joel McKinney; and sister, Blythe Grenz.
A special thank you to St. John's Hospice, especially to Teresa, Brittany, Brooke, Melissa, Rhonnie, Saundra, and Becca, for the exceptional care they provided for Bess!
As Bess had requested, a family celebration of her life has been planned in Miles City so that family can gather around her sister, Marsha. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Montana Rescue Mission and Adult Resource Alliance of Yellowstone County.
Bess will be missed beyond measure. She will remain dearly loved and treasured forever by her family and many friends whose lives she deeply touched. As Bess would always sing in the midst of a tough time, "Hold your head up high and say 'Hallelujah, anyhow!' "
Mom was an incredibly special woman! She was a best friend to many of us, and it's really hard to even imagine life without her! When I think about her life, there are sort of four things that I would like to tell you about:
First, Mom truly had a heart of pure gold and tirelessly served others no matter what! She was thought by many to be an angel in disguise! I remember when I was in elementary school, she had saved up for several years to buy a new burgundy-colored "London Fog" coat & matching paisely-wool scarf! She looked gorgeous in them! A few days later, we were driving downtown on a cold winter day and saw a homeless woman standing on a curb! Mom pulled the car over and gave her new coat and scarf to this woman! I was absolutely shocked and Mom said, "she needs it more than I do!" Not too long ago, I remember meeting another woman who worked at the McDonald's drive thru who Mom had gotten to know as she picked up her sweet tea, almost daily! Mom helped pay her monthly bills and took her and her children out to iHOP! The woman said, "I can't believe you're offering to take me out to lunch! And that you are offering to also take my kids, too!" She also befriended several children who were always playing in the alley behind her church, and she would take them to McDonald's every Sunday for lunch! This was the highlight of their week!
The second thing I'd like to tell you about is that Mom loved to laugh and was always filled with joy! Most days she woke up singing! She truly fit the saying "Happy as a lark, with a song in her heart!" Our last belly laugh was a time when mom, Leslie, and I were sitting in Leslie's car in a parking lot and we noticed a nearby shed. Have you seen the State Farm commercial about Cheryl and her she shed? Her husband says to her, "Cheryl, your she shed is on fire!" After Leslie & I had made way too many jokes about this, mom finally said, "She shed shut up!"
Third, Mom truly lived to praise and thank God no matter what! She did everything in her life to give honor and glory to God. The words from the hymn titled Blessed Assurance say it best: "This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long!" She had once said, "Psalm 150 is about praise and I love to praise God. This Psalm says, 'Praise God in his heavenly dwelling... Praise him for his mighty works; praise his unequaled greatness!... Let everything that lives sing praises to the Lord!' " Throughout her 55 year career as a church organist, she said, "Whenever I would start to play, I would say "This is for the glory of God!" She described a beautiful time at a church service when she was playing and it felt as if everyone's heart was set on God. She said "All of a sudden it was like all the angels were there. There is nothing like when you start playing and the whole congregation begins to worship God. It seems as if the whole congregation lifts up. It's unexplainable. You had to have been there." I got a glimpse of this feeling the last time I played a piano and organ duet with Mom just before she retired. We were playing Stars & Stripes Forever on the fourth of July and people started dancing. It was absolutely incredible!
And the fourth and last thing I'd like to tell you about is that Mom knew that her life was always in God's hands! During the toughest time of her life, she described a life-changing moment! "Back in 1965, God reached down and saved me and changed my life. My prayers were many, mostly, 'God help me!' And God, my Father, gave me a new understanding of the 23rd Psalm. This Psalm begins by saying, "The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength (He refreshes and restores my soul)." And all of a sudden I was in that pasture, wrapped in the green grass, which was the cloak of Jesus wrapped around me. God's Holy Spirit restored my soul and gave me rest!" Mom was truly amazing and will be missed beyond measure! I would like to end with a Psalm that beautifully describes her! Psalm 28:7 says, "The Lord gives me strength. He is like a shield that keeps me safe. My heart trusts in him (with unwavering confidence), and he helps me. (This is why my heart is singing!) My heart jumps
for joy. With my song I praise him."