The Life of BARBARA LEE BOATWRIGHT
Barbara Lee Boatwright, 87, died Tuesday, January 10, 2012. Services will be Saturday, January 14, 2012, at 11 a.m., at First Presbyterian Church, 3100 Easton Blvd. The family will greet friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, at Hamilton’s Funeral Home, 605 Lyon Street.
Barbara was born February 2, 1924, in Pittsburgh, PA, to Mary Lee (Barth) and Louis Lawrence "L.L." Moorman. She earned her MSW at the University of Pittsburgh, where she met and married Harry Frantz in 1948. They had two sons, Gary Dean and Steven Kirk. After Harry and Barbara's divorce, she continued to work for Iowa Children and Family Services in Des Moines, IA, and there she met Maynard Leo Boatwright. They wed August 6, 1960, and Barbara became stepmother to Maynard's three children: Dan Maynard, Michael Dean, and Cynthia May.
The family joined First Presbyterian Church, where Barbara served as youth group leader and a member of the session. Always working to make a meaningful difference in others' lives, she marketed goods of developing countries through the church to return more of the profits to the craftspeople. She also worked Thanksgiving and Christmas annual dinners served by the East Des Moines Cluster of Churches.
Barbara partnered with Larry Brubaker to form Clinical Counseling Services, and also worked at the Central Iowa Mental Health Institute. She taught courses at Grand View College and Drake University, and was an adjunct faculty member of the University of Iowa School of Social Work. She believed that to make positive social change, election to public office was key. She was especially proud of her three former graduate students who won seats in the Iowa legislature.
As president of Iowa Clinical Social Work Coalition, Barbara helped pass state licensure for social workers. She was active in PACE and in the League of Women Voters. She co-founded the Democratic Activist Women's Network (DAWN) in 1993 to elect Iowa women to the legislature.
Colleagues of Barbara honored her service. In 1999, she received the inaugural Barbara Boatwright Political Action Award, and in 2000 was named Social Worker of the Year by the NASW Iowa chapter. The YWCA awarded a Woman of Achievement award to her in 2002. NASW awarded the national and chapter Lifetime Achievement awards to Barbara in 2006. Barbara was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 2008.
Barbara hosted warm birthday and holiday celebrations attended by extended family and friends. She clowned in parades with the Elks Lodge 98. Barbara might laugh at this obituary looking back on her life: she always looked forward.
Barbara is survived by her husband, Maynard; her brothers, James (Brenda) Moorman and Buckner Moorman; her sons, Dan, Michael (Cindy), Gary, and Steven (Colleen) Boatwright; her daughter, Cynthia (Mark) Perkins; grandchildren, Jennifer (Chad) Peterson, Kevin (Chris) Mann, Jennifer (Pete) Kellis, Eric (Laura) Boatwright, Jennifer (Scott Cheskiewicz) Boatwright, Jodine (Aaron Loehrlein) Perkins, Tony (Amy) Perkins, Michael Boatwright, and Sara Boatwright; great-grandchildren, Alex and Ty Peterson, Peyton and Kamryn Kellis, Griffin and Katherine Mann, Casey and Kileigh Boatwright, and Eleanor Loehrlein. Barbara's parents and siblings, L. Lawrence Moorman, William Ross, and Betsy Bryant preceded her in death.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial contribution to her church or DAWN is suggested.