Barbara Louise (Whitmarsh) Price
January 28, 1935-February 1, 2022
On February 1, 2022, Barbara passed away at the Hemet Global Health Center. She was born in Santa Barbara, CA on January 28, 1935 and was 87-years old.
After high school in San Bernardino she attended Valley College and obtained her Nursing Degree. She worked in the San Bernardino area in several Doctor’s offices and concluded her career in nursing at the San Bernardino Community Hospital as the Director of Mental Health. During her hospitals’ Capital Campaign, she met her husband, Ivan Price, and they were married for 34.5 years.
Once she retired from SBCH, Barbara traveled with her husband with his consulting business to nonprofits and relocated to Sheridan, Wyoming; Chariton, Iowa; Aitkin Minnesota and then back to Southern California where both retired in Hemet in 2013.
As often happens, talents are discovered later in life when time is available in exploring new ideas.
In 2003, while visiting Iowa, her friend Susan Baer, the ‘Art Teacher’ called her to the dining room table and started her designing and making jewelry. Barbara enjoyed creating 3-D art using natural materials for making and also selling her designs and finished products for 12-years. In 2015 at the young age of eighty (yes, 80) she discovered the ability to portray interesting images and met Artist Rob Kelman, and entered his class at the Hemet Hobby Lobby and later at the Four Seasons in Beaumont.
Barbara’s art flowed in many directions… first, pastel pencil, then to acrylics, then to ScratchBoard art, she did try water color and did well, Foam Board creations and finally deciding to design and print colorful, cute and creative Greeting Cards.
She was a member of the Idyllwild Art Alliance, the Desert Art Center of Palm Springs, the Temecula Valley Art League and the Redlands Art Association. Her work has been seen at the Middle Ridge Gallery in Idyllwild, the City of Palm Desert’s Community Gallery, the Art Visitor’s Center in Idyllwild, the Desert Art Center in Palm Springs, the Redlands Art Association and finally many outside/inside Arts and Craft shows with her husband.
Barbara was preceded in death by her parents, Janet and Walter Whitmarsh of San Bernardino and is survived by her husband, Ivan Price of Hemet; her daughter Carol of Moreno Valley and son-in-law Jay Blackburn; her son Brian Bahnsen of Camarillo and daughter-in-law Danielle; two grand children, Cameran Bahnsen of Camarillo and Aaron Blackburn of Moreno Valley; and two step-grand children, Drew Roewsler of Houston, TX and Nicole Blackburn of Lake Elsinore, CA.
There will be a Celebration of Life on Sunday, October 16, 2022 at the Seven Hills Drive Homeowners Association at 1:00 p.m., located at 1377 Seven Hills Drive, Hemet.
“Now is the time to live because nobody knows about tomorrow.
Today will be just a memory tomorrow… make it a good one.”
