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.
