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BARBARA JEAN (HANSEN) SELBY
June 15, 1935 ˜ July 17, 2020
Barbara Jean (Hansen) Selby of Vancouver, WA was born in Portland, OR to Lillian and Hans Hansen and grew up in Bellingham, WA where she attended The Campus School at Western Washington University and Bellingham High School. She then attended the University of Washington and graduated with a BS in sociology.
After traveling to Europe and visiting her father’s family in Denmark, Barbara returned and married Parker Selby in 1960. She was a loving and devoted wife for 58 years until Parker passed away. She also supported the family business, Selby Bridge Company, where her insight, optimistic outlook, and reassuring presence were the backbone and support system of the company.
Barbara had a whimsical, dry sense of humor that often came from observing the absurdity of a situation in an accepting and nonjudgmental way. She was also an entertaining conversationalist and she had an ability to go off on many tangents and then somehow tie them all together.
Barbara also had a gift for hospitality. She enjoyed welcoming friends and family for dinner, and she expressed her love by always trying to have the foods that each person preferred. She also used to make Orange Julius’s for the neighborhood kids playing in her backyard. She had a way of tuning into the individuality of each person and making everyone feel special and attended to.
She was a loving and supportive mother to her three kids, Joe, Ann and Dan. She enjoyed their activities and sporting events and kept statistics at their basketball games. She was also the sister and lifelong best friend of June Dunn, a caring aunt, and she loved being a grandmother and singing along while her granddaughter played the piano. She was a lifelong member of the Vancouver chapter of P.E.O. national women’s organization.
Barbara enjoyed cooking, gardening, reading, singing, playing bridge and cribbage, watching sports, and she often wrote personalized rhyming poems for people’s birthdays. Even while having many health problems, she continued to appreciate life and the people around her, to care about others first, and to wish the best for everyone she met.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Hans and Lillian Hansen; and husband, Parker.
She is survived by son, Joe (Mary); daughter, Ann; son, Dan (Nicole); grandchildren, Annalise and Hudson; sister, June Dunn (Bill); sister-in-law, Jane Berni; and several nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Open House Ministries, The Salvation Army or The Clark College Foundation.
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2 Entries
I have the fondest memories of Barbara, in particular of her smile and generosity. My deepest condolences for your loss of this warm, lovely, wonderful person.
Tempe Everson
Friend
October 11, 2020
Tempe Everson
October 11, 2020
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