After a long and event-filled life, Barbara Ann Garrison Oliver passed away peacefully at Bridge Haven Memory Care in Lawrence, KS on June 21, 2026.
Barbara was born on August 31, 1932, in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to Calvin Garland and Dorothy (Drake) Garrison. She grew up in Auburn, KY, surrounded by the loving and watchful eyes of both sets of grandparents, and a great grandmother all within walking distance of her parents’ home.
Barbara flourished in Auburn’s closeknit community. She attended high school in Auburn where she was a cheerleader, and her father was the principal and basketball and football coach. Thus began her lifelong love of rooting for her favorite sports teams. She attended Kentucky Western College (WKU), becoming a fervent “Hilltopper” and graduating with a degree in business administration.
After completing her studies, Barbara moved to Louisville, KY. Her love for travel began while working for Delta Airlines in their Louisville, Ky office. She worked as a ticket clerk for Delta Airlines and was quite proud to be able to maneuver large suitcases as easily as the otherwise all male ticket crew. Barbara had great stories about helping many interesting people, including Mohammad Ali and Colonel Sanders. She later became secretary to the regional manager.
Using the travel perks provided by Delta to its employees, Barbara and several other women from the office enjoyed trips to Hawaii and other resort areas in South America. She had fond memories of hard work and fun times at one of her favorite spots, the IXL Dude Ranch outside of Sheridan, WY. Barbara and her good friend, Nancy Lee, regularly vacationed on the ranch.
While living in Louisville, at the insistence of a good friend, Barbara accepted a blind date with a young architect. William “Kelly” Oliver had been an apprentice with Frank Lloyd Wright and had recently moved to Louisville to supervise the construction of the new Lincoln Income office building. The blind date worked! After nearly a year of dating and sailing on the Ohio River, Barbara and Kelly were married on March 26, 1966, at the Second Presbyterian Church in Louisville, KY. Delta perks helped with the honeymoon trip to the Bahamas. Following completion of the Lincoln Income building they packed their belongings in her little Renault and, towed by a 55 T-Bird, headed to Denver, Colorado.
In Denver, Kelly and another former Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice, Gordon Lee opened their own office in Cherry Creek. Barbara fell in love with Colorado. She enjoyed mountain picnics and regular family vacations made each year to rented cabins near Estes Park in the Rocky Mountain National Park. One winter Barbara, along with her sister-in-law, Betty Oliver, made a gallant attempt to learn to ski but both found that lacing up boots and falling were not worth the effort.
Everything changed in 1968 when son David was born. Barbara stayed at home with David until he started school. She then became an active volunteer at his school and continued to work through his high school years in the school library. After David left for college, Barbara joined the Assistance League of Denver. The Assistance League had a number of volunteer projects and Barbara participated in several and formed strong friendships with many of the members. Volunteering at the League’s Thrift Store was her favorite project.
Barbara and Kelly had joined the Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church shortly after it was formed in the early 80’s in Denver. Worship services were then conducted in the Cherry Creek High School auditorium before the current church complex was constructed. Barbara and Kelly remained active members until moving to Kansas.
Barbara loved to play cards and was very competitive. She and Kelly had season tickets for the Broncos for nearly forty years. John Elway was still one of her favorites. Barbara loved almost every sport. She played golf at the Links Golf Course and was in a regular mahjong group that met at each player’s house in rotation.
After Kelly retired, he and Barbara embarked on more travel, spending time with extended family in the U.S. and abroad. They especially enjoyed cruises to all kinds of destinations including Alaska, the Mississippi River, the Danube, and the St. Lawrence River.
In 2019, Barbara and Kelly moved to Lawrence, Kansas to be closer to son David and his wife Lori. It was a tough decision and an even tougher feat, but very well-timed. The last several years spent close to family were very important to all.
Survivors include her husband of sixty years, Kelly, her son David, and daughter-in-law Lori Jo Phillips.
A graveside service for Barbara will be held at Fairmount Cemetery in Denver, Colorado on July 7th, 10:00am.
The family would like to give special recognition and thanks to the staff of Bridge Haven Memory Care, for their three years of kind and loving care. Caregivers, Helping Hand, and Visiting Nurses Hospice were also incredibly helpful during Barbara’s long journey.
Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to Lawrence Humane Society, 1805 E 19th St, Lawrence, KS 66046 or https://lawrencehumane.org/donate/.
