Obituary of Catherine Helen Barney

Catherine Helen Barney passed away on June 13, 2019. She was a humorous conversationalist and constantly on the move. Cathy always stayed happily active! She began her wanderlust in the early 1960’s, taking off on extended trips to the Congo, Brazil and Burma. Soon she left the banking world to work as a travel agent and in 1975 opened Four Seasons Travel, her own successful agency.

Catherine was born in Great Falls, Montana in 1942 and was predeceased by her parents, William and Helen Barney. She is survived by her sister, Patricia Rawlings, and her three nieces, Stacy DeBritz, Susan Marshall and Stephanie von Friedeburg. Cathy loved spoiling her three nieces when they were young, bringing them exotic gifts from her world travels—chocolate cigarettes from France, elephant hair bracelets from Africa, jingle dresses from Afghanistan.  She took them to the movies - Papermoon and The Sound of Music - and showed them on an atlas where the von Trapp Family walked over the mountains into Switzerland. She took them paddle boating on the Boise River and let them have fudgesicles and chocolate frosted donuts for breakfast! She was the proud great aunt of Allison, Joseph, Audrey and Luke DeBritz and Frances, Alexandra and Nicholas von Friedeburg.

Cathy’s zest for life carried into her philanthropy. She valued her membership in the Idaho Women’s Charitable Foundation. She looked forward to each season of the Boise Philharmonic and loved Shakespeare, reading and the movies. Horizon Drive was her residence for decades. She walked the neighborhood as well as parts of the North End and downtown several times a day - rain or sunshine. Cathy was the most effective Neighborhood Watch volunteer for which one could ask and she was cherished by her friends in the community. In 2018, she was awarded the Mayor’s Good Neighbor Award for all that she contributed. Nightly, Cathy was a beloved dinner guest at the Lock Stock & Barrel. There is a plaque in the restaurant that reads “Lock, Stock, & Barney.” After dinner, she was well known for ordering her evening finale, the “Chapter 11” cocktail. A toast in Cathy’s memory will take place at the Lock, Stock, & Barrel at 4 PM Friday, July 5^th.

Per Cathy’s wishes, there will be no religious ceremony. Contributions may be made in Cathy’s memory to www.idahowomenscharitablefoundation.org.