Barbara Nell (Leavitt) Blakesley

August 13, 1927 – December 9, 2022

Barbara Nell (Leavitt) Blakesley, 95, passed away Dec. 9, 2022, at the Worland Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Worland of natural causes.  Barbara was born Aug. 13, 1927, in rural Shell, Wyo., the daughter of Charles Andrew Leavitt and Nell Barclay (Smith) Leavitt.  She was raised in the Shell Valley and attended the Shell school.  Barbara graduated from Greybull High School in 1946 where she sang in the choir.  The “Graduating Class Prophecy” in the Greybull High School Yearbook described her as “The Blonde Bombshell”!

Barbara attended Rocky Mountain College in Billings for three semesters, taking business classes.  She sang in the Rocky Mountain College Choir and was known as the best piano accompanist and player on campus.  After the three semesters of college, Barbara worked as a secretary for General Electric in Billings for 20 years and moved to Salt Lake City when General Electric moved their office from Billings to Salt Lake.  She worked there for a few more years before moving back to Greybull to work as a secretary for Wyo-Ben.  She worked for Wyo-Ben until her retirement.

Barbara married Charles Blakesley in 1968 and they made their home in Greybull.  They were married for 34 years until Charles passed away in 2002.  She then moved to the Wyoming State Pioneer Home in Thermopolis and lived there for 17 years.  Barbara’s health declined sharply in the last two months so she was moved to the Worland Healthcare and Rehabilitation Nursing Home just a month ago.

Barbara always enjoyed playing the piano, crocheting afghans, doing cross-stitch, counted cross-stitch, reading, and crossword puzzles.

Survivors include three stepdaughters: Lois (Kelly) Johnson of Soldotna, Alaska, Deborah (Larry) Johnson of Gillette, and Rachel Blakesley of Bryan, Texas; eight grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and two nieces.  

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Charles; sisters: Rachel L. Bennet and Blanche Leavitt; brothers: Paul and Andrew Leavitt, and—namesake of her father, brother, and husband—great-grandson, Andrew Charles Cooper.

Graveside services for Barbara Blakesley were held Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, at the Donald J. Ruhl Memorial Cemetery, Greybull, Wyo., with Pastor Tim Trippel officiating. Online condolences may be made to www.bryantfuneralhomeonline.com.