Barbara Denise Matthiessen

Barbara Denise Matthiessen ended her more than 3 year fight with cancer on March 26, 2025. Barbara was so very strong and courageous in her cancer fight. For a woman who spent much of her life looking after, caring for, and nurturing others it was very hard for Barbara to be dependent on others and the one in need of help. For a woman who walked more than 5 miles most days and who loved driving down country roads with the music turned up, it was so hard for her to lose her mobility. Despite her pain and fatigue Barbara always expressed her extreme gratitude and appreciation for the loving care and support she received from her husband Larry as well as the cancer care staff at Northwest Medical Specialties in Gig Harbor.

As profoundly as cancer reshaped Barbara’s life in recent years there is so much more to appreciate about her life and remember her by.

Barbara was the first of 5 children raised by Charles and Shirley Mitchell. Born in Ft. Leavenworth Kansas in 1954, Barbara was followed by Audrey, Leslie, Curt and Paulie. With Charles working on major civil works and engineering projects across the country, Barbara moved frequently as a child and found herself repeatedly navigating new schools as the ”new kid”. Being the oldest of 5 children meant Barbara was also busy at home helping her mother with her younger siblings.

In 1969 the Mitchell family moved to Electric City, Washington when the company Charles worked for won a contract on the Grand Coulee Dam 3rd Powerhouse. Grand Coulee is where Barbara met and married Larry Matthiessen. Larry’s employment in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard brought Barbara and Larry to the Kitsap Peninsula where their sons Derek (1972) and Jason (1976) were born and raised. While raising her own family Barbara really valued stability and community and appreciated the fact that her sons Derek and Jason graduated high school with some of the same people they started kindergarten with. A community connection that Barbara deeply valued for so many years while living in Port Orchard was that of her dear friends and neighbors Becky and Rich Barringer. Barbara and Becky raised their kids together, worked together at South Kitsap High School and supported each other in all of life’s highs and lows over the years.

Barbara developed a deep appreciation for art, science and literature in her childhood and was a voracious reader of both fact and fiction throughout her life. A prolific artist in many different mediums, many of us have tangible reminders of Barbara’s artistic talent and skill in the form of quilts, textile arts, jewelry, paintings and other creations. In recent years Barbara made numerous quilts that she donated to one of her favorite local charities, Old Dog Haven, for fundraising.

When her boys reached middle school Barbara sought work outside the home. First working as a Special Education Teacher at South Kitsap High School from 1985-1992, Barbara later found a way to turn her hobbies into a full time career. In true entrepreneurial spirit Barbara found a niche in the arts and craft publishing world. Using a wide variety of materials Barbara designed and created crafts in her home studio along with written ”how to” instructions. Initially these instructions were published with others in different craft periodicals, but later Barbara’s work would be published in books entirely of her own work. Barbara’s crafting and art design work had her traveling to conferences in Frankfurt and frequent trips to her publishers headquarters in Atlanta. Barbara received numerous awards and recognition of her craft design work.

Barbara is survived by her husband Larry, son Derek, daughters in-law Andrea and Emily, and grandchildren Dylan, Aster, Riley, Freya, Ike and Blake. She was preceded in death by her parents, sister Audrey and dear son Jason.