Obituary: Comeaux, Barbara “Bobbi”
Age 94
Her wish was to be remembered as “a loving, cheerful, helpful Christian who loved her family deeply.”
She will also be remembered for her exuberant welcoming smile, unbridled enthusiasm for life and her faithfulness to family and friends.
Her joy for holiday traditions, nature, music, travel, and volunteer work will also long be remembered.
Her quick wit brought many a smile to friends or strangers alike.
She trusted in God’s Word that she could look forward to his promise of life for eternity.
Bobbi was born March14, 1920 to Paul and Bertha Barnes in West Seattle where she grew up and graduated from West Seattle High School.
She went to college and proudly graduated from Whitman with a degree in Music education (a Master’s Degree was earned years later from EWU).
In 1942 she married Justin A Comeaux, also a West Seattleite and Whitman graduate who preceded her “to heaven” in 2006.
In his marriage proposal he promised to “show her the world” and held true to his word: She and Justin traveled to 42 countries of Europe, Central and South America, Asia, and crewed sail boats between South Pacific Islands.
Bobbi was the fifth of seven daughters of whom Doris Kommers, Jane Barnes, Helen Murdock, Peggy Barnes (Quiroga), and Ellie Wolf preceded her passing.
She is survived by her older sister, Pauline Dudley of Seattle; and her sister-in-law, Eleanore Ridell of Anacortes, WA; her son, Rene Comeaux of Seattle; and twin daughters Nan Luppert (John) of Spokane and Jan Kuske (Gregory) of Jerusalem, Israel.
They have given her grandchildren: Kevin Comeaux (Ellen) of Bothell, Monique Kalany (Kamal) of Lake Stevens, Aileen Luppert of Spokane, Pauline Luppert of Oakland, CA., and Alex Chapman of Vancouver, WA.
Great-grandchildren are: Riley Comeaux, Sarah, Zach, Adam, Devin and Gabe Kylany and Eva Luppert.
She is survived also by numerous beloved in-laws, nieces, nephews, and grand and great-nieces and nephews.
She is survived by her special friend from Harvard Park Retirement Community, Joe Fiel, who helped make her last year a very happy one.
Bobbi’s passions were many.
Among them were teaching: kindergarten, second grade, public school music classes, private string students, All City Orchestra, Sacajawea Junior High Orchestra and swimming lessons for the Red Cross; tennis to age 80+ (was a founding member of Spokane racquet club), waterskiing (to age 65), gardening (she had two green thumbs), music (Spokane Symphony for more than 20 years and directing choirs at Manito Methodist Church and caroling parties), Bible study; camping, hiking, huckleberry picking and canoeing at Priest Lake, and jogging/walking Bloomsday (twenty seven times winning six medals from 1978 through 2012 at age 92).
Perhaps her greatest passion was writing letters to family and new and life-long friends; she continued to value and reach out to friends from exercise classes, PEO, Mu Phi Epsilon music philanthropic sorority, Army friends from war times, Whitman College classmates, West Seattle High School friends including Camp Fire Friends, and friends met from travels by VW vans in Europe, tennis friends from California and Spokane and weekly to her sisters.
Thank you to her hardworking and loving care takers during her last months in Adult Family Homes, most recently Classy Retreat.
Services will be held at First Presbyterian Church on Saturday July 26th at 1:00 PM, reception following in the church hall.
Living flowers that may be planted in her memory are requested in lieu of cut flowers.
Memorial donations may be made in Bobbi’s name to Meals on Wheels, 1222 W 2nd Ave, Spokane, WA 99201.