Obituary: https://dchieftain.com/barbara-r-dubois/
The family of Barbara R. DuBois is grieved to announce her passing on Saturday, November 20, 2021, at the age of 95. Originally from New York State, she moved to New Mexico with her late husband and fell in love with the blue sky. Although she never moved away, Barbara was a traveler and visited many countries including Greece, Australia and much of the Caribbean, often joined by her extended family of a daughter, two sons, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Her trip last week was to the wedding that added another cherished family member to dinner reservations that are capable of inciting panic in a maître d’.
She spent 18 years teaching college English, most recently at New Mexico Tech. Barbara started writing poems for her mother when she was 10 years old, and after getting published in Readers Digest, her career was born. Poetry doesn’t pay much, she said, but she enjoys entering contests. One year, she traveled to San Francisco to accept an award. “I hardly ever write anything serious,” she says, “The people in San Francisco laughed at all the right places.” Barbara was honored as New Mexico Senior Poet Laureate. She says, “Whenever I win $50, I say, ‘good, that buys me stamps.’” Barbara founded the Socorro chapter of the State Poetry Society, has her poems, book reviews, and travel articles in multiple publications, and her long career continues with eight of her books still sold at the Alamo Gallery and Gifts.
An avid reader, she wrote the book reviews in El Defensor-Chieftain for years. When she was not reading or writing, Barbara was singing in the Cantantes de Socorro, volunteering at the Bosque Del Apache, the Historical Society, and the Friends of the Library, among others, or walking, swimming, talking and collecting owls. Barbara did not want a memorial service, but continuing her contributions to young poets, education, and the Bosque would make her smile!
In 2022, we are honoring Barbara and her commitment to AAUW and community support by hosting the DuBois Fly-In Fundraiser: A Guided Tour of the Bosque del Apache with Sandra Noll on January 22, 2022. The cost of the fundraiser is a donation of $25 per person with the proceeds going towards scholarships for advancing the education of women in Socorro County. Space is limited for this event – if you would like to participate in the Fly-In, please make your reservation here.
If you are unable to attend the DuBois Fly-In Fundraiser, but want to make a donation in Barbara’s name, please use this link to make a donation by credit or debit card. Please note that you are making the donation in her name. You can also send a check payable to AAUW Socorro Branch with ‘DuBois’ on the the memo line to:
AAUW Socorro NM Branch
PO Box 3067
Socorro, NM 87801
To learn more about AAUW Scholarship Fund and how it works, please visit our Scholarships webpage.
If you would like to share thoughts, comments, memories, or words of condolence about Barbara, you can do so at: https://forms.gle/aDteRr6Xy7yRMZvE8. We will occasionally upload comments to this webpage for public viewing.