Barbara Blewett

Barbara Arlene Blewett, aged 94, died peacefully in her sleep on October 16, 2024, in Santa Paula, CA, after a bedside rosary.

Born on May 23, 1930, in Los Angeles, Barbara's life was marked by her Catholic Faith, kindness, generosity, industry, and artistry.

While illness may have slowed Barbara down during her final years, her children and grandchildren remember the quiet force that she was. As a mother, she ran a remarkable home, serving healthy feasts on a beautifully set table for her family and a never-ending stream of guests, arranged flowers, tastefully furnished and decorated her home, refinished furniture, sewed beautiful clothing for her family, knit sweaters, hats, blankets and her famed Christmas stockings, strung rosary beads, all the while maintaining a healthy sense of humor, and gracefully accepting the challenges that came her way. Somehow she found time to tend a beautiful flower garden, and harvest the fruit of several trees around her home.

Barbara grew up on a dairy farm in Fife, Washington, and met her beloved husband John, who called her Bobbie Sox (she was born Barbara Fox), while they were students at Seattle University. She loyally endured the many job transfers and moves that John‘s career entailed. As a wife, mother, and grandmother, she was a strong role model, and her children and friends remember her as a welcoming and loving presence. She was ever prayerful, subtle, and polite, although she was outspoken in her beliefs and brought many souls into (and back into) the Catholic Church, including some of her children who had drifted away for a short time. She welcomed her mother into her home and took care of her during her final years.

Barbara relied on the Blessed Virgin Mary for consolation amidst family sorrow, sickness, and life’s contradictions. Her last years, after the occurrence of a brain tumor that was put in remission, were a quiet continuation of her prayer life. She would confidently assure those who came to her for advice “Everything will be just fine!” How right she was.

Barbara was a member of the Legion of Mary. Devoted to the traditional Latin Mass, she traveled throughout the United States with her husband John, an editor of the The Latin Mass Magazine. During their retirement, she also developed a Catholic book-selling apostolate, serving Catholic families and children as well as homeschooling families. Barbara was an activist at heart and an avid reader, aware of political and social issues of her day. She was active in the pro life movement and worked to advance hospice care in California, arranging many speaking tours for Dr. Richard Lamerton, a colleague of Dr. Cicely Saunders, who were both pioneers of modern hospice in the UK.

A 44-year resident of Santa Paula, Barbara is survived by her seven children: John (Susan) Blewett, Katharine (John) Masteller, Carolyn (Michael) DeTar, Peter Blewett (Mary✞), Margaret (Richard) Wall, David Blewett and Paul (Jeanne) Blewett, 28 grandchildren and 60 great-grandchildren; sister Kathleen Hansen; cousin Jeanne Browne and several nieces and nephews, cousins and second cousins. Barbara was preceded in death by her beloved spouse, John W. Blewett; her parents Francis and Leona Fox, sister Beverly Hendrickson, daughter-in-law Mary Blewett, and grand-daughter Jane Francis Blewett.

A rosary will be held on Wednesday, October 23, at 7pm. A Requiem Mass will be held on Thursday, October 24, at 9am at Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel at Thomas Aquinas College, followed by a burial service at Santa Paula Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, honoring Barbara’s commitment to the propagation and widespread availability of the traditional Latin Mass, Thomas Aquinas College, or Society of Jesus Christ the Priest, SJS (Sociedad de Jesucristo Sacerdote).