Barbara Vokoun

Barbara Ann Vokoun, nee Freeman, 77, of Denver, passed away April 2, 2013 with friends and family by her side. With fortitude, grace and in good cheer she fought pancreatic cancer, diagnosed in July 2011.

She was born to the late Fred and Dovie Lee Freeman, Oct. 6, 1935, in Lamison, Alabama.

Barbara attended Lamison School in Lamison, AL and Pine Hill High School in Pine Hill, AL, the University of Alabama, Montevallo University and San Bernardino Valley College.

Barbara, often referred to as Ms. V by her students, was a schoolteacher in southern California until she retired in 2003. She was passionate about helping her Special Needs students cope, learn, and prosper. All of her life she was ebullient, optimistic, happy and filled with the joy of life. As an adult, she was an accomplished golfer and successful stock market investor.

She enjoyed traveling, particularly by ship, and visited Europe, Africa, India, Asia, Australia, a number of South Pacific islands and numerous places in the United States and Canada. Her favorite activities included reading, the music of Pete Seeger and Joan Baez, classical music, yoga, gardening and the pleasures of an ocean beach. She had great respect and love of nature, evidenced by camping in the wilds of Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park and many other off the beaten track settings.

Barbara was physically strong and determined as evidenced by walking up a steep flight of stairs, to her bedroom, within two hours of arriving home from Hospital after her surgery.

Moreover, she was high-spirited. Two friends commented, "An elegant, loving and caring woman...What a light she was and always will be to me!" and "a classic example of the free spirit who lived life to enjoy it."

Friends and family all remember her as kind and loving. Barbara was especially attentive to her mother, taking her on trips and excursions.

Barbara is preceded in death by her mother and father, Dovie Lee Freeman Carver and Fred Maxwell Freeman, Sr., stepfather Kenneth Carver, two brothers, Fred Maxwell Freeman, Jr., Roy Freeman, and three sisters, Dovie Lee Clanton, Marzette Huckabee, Clara Gene Freeman and her husband, Leon Vokoun.

Barbara is survived by two children: John Bowman, of Denver; and Phillip Bowman of San Francisco; and their father, Emerson Bowman of Colorado Springs; and brothers Donald Freeman, of Vero Beach, FL and Boyce Freeman, of Citronelle, AL. She leaves five nieces and nine nephews with fond memories of Barbara, known to them as Aunt Bobbie. She had a very close relationship with her niece, Anna Clanton Smith.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made in her name to Halcyon Hospice and Palliative Care, Denver, CO. Barbara cherished the hospice staff and enjoyed long conversations with each of her attendants.

A memorial will held at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, 2013 at 2233 Cherry Street in Denver, CO.