Barbara Ruth Vivona

Barbara was born in Ft. Lupton, CO in November of 1938. Born to Barbara and Ben Lell (1/22/00 and 8/13/99), she was their first of seven children. She was preceded in death by her husband Robert Daniel (October 31, 2002) and her son, Robert Daniel II (August 19, 2011). She is survived by her daughter, Karin (Ray French) and her two grandchildren, Keegan and Riley. She is also survived by her all 6 of her siblings, Ben Lell, Janet Cobb, Wayne Lell, Sandi (Ron) Fells, Greg (Patti) Lell and Debbie (John Longo).
Barbara grew up in Brighton Colorado on dairy and sugar beet farms. She moved to Portland Oregon as a little girl so her parents could build ships and contribute to the WW II effort. She remembered those days fondly as she had indoor plumbing, lots of friends around and got to go to preschool. She and her family returned to Brighton after the war, where she graduated from Brighton High School in 1956 and continued to finishing school after that.
Upon graduating from high school and finishing school she decided to move to New York City where she stayed at the YWCA while searching for a place to live. She found a job as a secretary at Mutual of New York working for Vincent Hatala. Little did she know that that job would change her life. Vince introduced her to his brother-in-law, Robert (Bob) Vivona and the rest was history. After a significant courtship Barbara and Bob were married in February of 1963. They bought a house in New Jersey and settled down for 10 years. In April of 1970 their son was born, Robert Daniel Vivona II. He was the light of their lives and Barbara moved into a new roll as a mom. As always, her love, patience and commitment made her an excellent mother.
In the fall of 1972, the family picked up and moved to Littleton, Colorado. Soon after, they had their daughter, Karin Ann. Barbara was so happy and felt so blessed to have both a boy and girl. And once again Barbara killed it at being the best mom.
Barbara lived the rest of her life in Littleton. She was very active in neighborhood; playing tennis, bridge, hosting parties and always being there when a friend or family member was in need. She also was part of the PTA and volunteered at Columbine Catholic Church, which later became St. Francis Cabrini Catholic Church. She gave blood religiously, once a month at the church, and then after she retired she worked on the funeral committee, helping families at a very difficult time. She traveled all over the world, to Hawaii, the Caribbean, South America, every where in Europe, China, Thailand and Russia, to name a few. Her last big trip was with Karin to London, where they both enjoyed their favorite sport, tennis, by attending Wimbledon in 2011.
Barbara was blessed again when her grandson was born, Keegan, in October on 2004. Which was great timing since she had just retired the year before. She took care of Keegan twice a week and did numerous babysitting jobs, overnights and sleepovers at Grandma's. They just adored each other, they loved taking walks together and eating mint chocolate chip ice cream. In 2009, another blessing came along, in the form of her granddaughter, Riley. She watched Riley one day a week, and spent more time babysitting both kids.
Sadly, in August of 2011, Barbara lost her son, Robert. Although never fully recovering from his death, she stayed positive, still loved playing tennis and visiting with her friends. In 2014 she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease and moved out of her house into Assisted living. She remained the life of the party at Morning Star for about 4 years. In the beginning of 2019, her health started to deteriorate and she moved once again to a smaller nursing facility where she could receive more care. After breaking her hip this past August, she was just not able to recover, and she died peacefully in her sleep on November 1st, with Karin and Ray by her side.
Everyone who knew Barbara loved her. As mentioned earlier, she was always the life of the party, ready to dance, drink and have a good time. She touched so many people in her almost 81 years on this earth and will be missed by all. Always a good mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. She was received in heaven by Bob and Robert, many of her neighbors, friends and family. May she rest in peace.

Her funeral mass will be celebrated on November 12, at 10:30 am, at St. Francis Cabrini Catholic Church in Littleton, Colorado.