Barbara Lee (Quist) Green

Barbara was born on July 29, 1936 in Yakima, WA. She attended Yakima High School but graduated from Ellensburg High School in 1954 after her family moved there. Barbara then attended the University of Washington, dreamt of working in the Foreign Service, and graduated in 1958. In her senior year, Barbara served as the President of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority.

Barbara married Ralph Robert (Bob) Green (UW '58) in 1959 and supported him while he attended medical school. During the 1960s, Bob's service as a doctor in the Army required them to move frequently, but enabled them to live in Augsburg, Germany for a while before returning to Seattle and settling in the Montlake area. In 1970, they moved to Marin County in California, eventually setting in Terra Linda. Barbara and Bob later divorced, but she and her children, Margaret and Christopher, remained in Terra Linda throughout the 70s. The family was a member of the Church of the Nativity in Marinwood where Barbara made lifelong friends.

Barbara reentered the workforce as a secretary at the Veterans’ Administration before becoming an inspector with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. Her job with ATF brought the family back to Washington State, where they settled in Kirkland in 1979. Barbara later became a Special Agent with the Defense Investigative Service, where her inquisitiveness and hard work served both her and the government well. She retired from DIS in September 1995.

After Kirkland, Barbara briefly lived in Alki and then in North Seattle (now Shoreline) for several years. Barbara then moved to West Seattle, followed by Bremerton before returning for good back to West Seattle. She lived at the Ballymena Apartments at the Kenney Home until shortly before her death.

In addition to working fulltime and raising a family, Barbara had a number of different interests over the years. She played guitar and piano and worked as a volunteer usher at plays while in Marin. During her retirement, Barbara took up painting and enjoyed crafting. She also enjoyed researching her family’s genealogy. She was involved with the business, activities, and events at The Kenney and regularly helped with their annual holiday bazaar. Although she never went on a safari, among other travels, Barbara took a Caribbean sailing cruise which she fondly remembered, went leaf peeping in Vermont with her mother, and spent three months in England with her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren.

Our Mom was someone to contend with. She always wanted to know why. She was a proud feminist and happy to know a new President and Vice President were about to be sworn in.

Barbara loved her grandchildren. She particularly enjoyed spending time with both together and just talking about different things. The three of them had taken over the family tradition of making Kringlers for Christmas.

Barbara is survived by her daughter Margaret Vickrey (née Green) and son-in-law Doug; her grandchildren Elliott Vickrey and Owen Vickrey; her son Christopher Green; and her younger brothers Charles (Chuck) Quist and Eric Quist. Barbara was predeceased by her daughter-in-law Heather, her mother, Evelyn E. Quist (née Erickson) and her father Charles L. Quist.