
Please join us at Barbara Hodgson’s farewell “Open House” on Saturday, April 27th, from 10:00am-noon. The Celebration of her life will be held at the Smith Center at Brandon Woods, 4730 Brandon Woods Terrace, Lawrence, KS. There will be a short program at 10:30am followed by time to share favorite memories about Barbara.
Barbara Kay Hodgson passed away March 9, 2019 at Bridge Haven in Lawrence, KS.
She was born February 3, 1938 at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, MO. Her parents were Paul E. Hodgson and Carrie Elizabeth Cassidy Hodgson.
Barbara’s family moved to Lawrence, KS in 1943. She attended Pinckney, McAlister, West Jr. High, and Lawrence High School. Barbara graduated from the University of Kansas in 1960 where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. Barbara worked at the Jay Shoppe in downtown Lawrence.
In 1960, she married Don Pfutzenreuter and they lived in Lawrence where she taught at New York School. Barbara and Don lived in Colorado from 1963-1971 and then moved back to Lawrence where she taught at Sunset Hill Elementary School from 1971-73. In 1973 Barbara and Don moved to Roswell, New Mexico where she sold real estate, started selling jewelry, and raising horses. Don and Barbara divorced. Barbara married James Martin but later divorced. She moved to Boulder, Colorado in 1984. In 1988 she moved back to Lawrence to help care for her parents. Barbara started selling real estate in 1991 with McGrew Real Estate. She was a million dollar salesperson and Realtor of the year in 1996. She retired in 2016.
Barbara was preceded in death by her parents, brother and sister-in-law, Larry and Cindy Hodgson.
Survivors include niece Stacy Woodward Natalie and her children, Haylee, Hannah, and Tyler Woodward. She is also survived by her many good friends, especially John McGrew and family, the Kay and Monte Johnson family, her Lawrence High and Pi Phi friends, Cathy Tarr, and the McGrew Real Estate Family. Barbara’s “extended family” included the many friends she made over the years while she was selling real estate and being involved in the Lawrence community. Even though she never had children of her own, Barbara was often seen at numerous youth sporting events, choir concerts, and dance recitals cheering on the children of friends as if they were her own. She will be remembered for her sense of adventure, love of the outdoors, and soft spoken story-telling. Barbara said “I had a Great life…Love to all of you for all you were to and for me!!!” A special thank you to Barbara’s caregivers at Brandon Woods and especially Bridge Haven, for their compassion and care.
Per Barbara’s wishes, she will be cremated. A celebration will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Barbara’s honor to New York Elementary School, Lawrence, KS, the Lawrence Schools Foundation, or the Pi Beta Phi Foundation/ Kansas Alpha Chapter, sent in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana Street, Lawrence, KS 66044.
Barbara was a kind and caring person who cared about her community and making the world a better place. She will be remembered at New York Elementary for decades to come!
I am a former teacher, retired from New York Elementary School. Every school year Barbara presented a New York teacher with an award. I was honored to be that recipient in 2015. Because Barbara had been a teacher at New York she was knowledgeable about the community…the students, their families, and the teachers. She understood what made teaching at New York School such a unique teaching experience. I was never privileged to know Barbara personally but I do know that she was one of those educators who believe in education and students…a role model to all of us. Year after year the Barbara Hodgson Dream to Achieve Award reminds all of us why we teach and why it is so important at New York Elementary to be reminded that our efforts are not overlooked. What an amazing woman. She will be missed.
Barbara was a Special Person. Will miss her….
Barbara was the kindest, most generous friend anyone could have. From the time we were Pi Phi pledge sisters, our friendship grew with every year. She was quiet and centered yet expansive and adventurous, a genuine, classy woman. What an honor to have her as a friend who truly enriched my life as well as the lives of so many others.
Barbara was a kind and caring woman. She saw that teachers at New York Elementary were not recognized for their contributions as often as others. She and John McGrew set up the Barbara Hodgson Dream to Achieve Award. This yearly award recognizes one teacher for caring and giving of his or herself to the students of New York. I will miss her bright smile and positive attitude. Thank you Barbara for loving the teachers at New York Elementary
Barb was one of the most vibrant people I have ever known and I feel lucky to have know her. May she Rest In Peace!
When I came to KU as a junior, I met Barbara at a Pi Phi event in the old Pi Phi house on Mississippi. She took me under her wing and said “I know what it is like to be a town girl. I will take care of you.” And she did. She helped me meet others in the house, and she alerted me to activities I would not have known about because I lived at home. She has been a friend for all these years, and I will truly miss her gentleness and her sense of humor. I have admired the way she has kept all of her ties to the LHS Class of 1956, and I love the way they have kept their ties with her. Her longtime Pi Phi sisters Kay Rathbone Johnson and Judy Allen Morris have been by her side throughout her struggles these last few years. Love in the bonds. Speed thee my arrow.
Barbara was an amazing women. She was intelligent, kind, artistic and loving. I will miss her and remember her forever.