Barbara Ann Keyt

Barbara Ann Keyt passed away peacefully at the age of 95 on July 24, 2024, at Alpine Way Retirement Home in Shelton, WA. She is survived by her daughters Kari Cluney, Jessie Keyt, Edith (Dee) Nichols and her son Edwin Keyt, IV. She was preceded in death by Edwin, her husband of 46 years, her brother William, and her son John.

She was the biological mother of five, with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, a few great-greats and was also a surrogate mother and grandmother to numerous others. Barbara was born on November 21, 1928 in Bothell, WA to William and Olga Snudden the year before the Great Depression. Her mother was remarried in 1936 to Henry Leed, a Navy man, and as a Navy brat, she sometimes attended multiple schools in one year. She attended the Kalakaua School in Honolulu, HI at the same time as her future husband Edwin. They didn't meet then, but he would later become her boyfriend at Vallejo Jr. High in Vallejo, CA.

She graduated from Burlington Edison High School in 1947 and married Floyd Cotton of Burlington, WA in 1949. She worked as an Information Operator for Skagit Valley Telephone Company. Barbara was remarried in 1961 to Edwin Bush Keyt, III of Vallejo, CA. While living in California, she worked as an emergency dispatch operator and later as a deaf and hard of hearing Special Education teacher. During that time, she was going to college and raising six children and two nieces while also helping several other kids who needed kindness.

She and Edwin moved to Shelton, WA in 1975 with Jessie, Dee and Edwin. She became an emergency telephone operator for The Evergreen State College and she received her B.A. there in 1980. She and Edwin took many classes together in California and in Washington. Barbara and Edwin often met like-minded people and at Evergreen helped co-found the Thurston Santo Tomas Sister County Association (TSTSCA) in 1989. In 1991, Barbara and Edwin went on a harrowing adventure; they drove a VW bug that was modified for off-road use from Shelton south through the U.S., Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and up into the mountains of Nicaragua to the town of El Cuá.

They would end up traveling to Nicaragua three times and Edwin spent four and a half years there working on a small hydroelectric plant bringing light to El Cuá. Barbara always tried to help everyone she could and supported TSTSCA until her death.

Barbara was an avid singer her whole life, and was known to spontaneously break out in song and could sing songs in several languages. She sang in the church choir and various community choirs throughout her life, most recently with Anna's Bay Chorale where she was invited to perform at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Barbara was a true Christian who loved everyone and served the Lord. She believed in peace and justice and devoted her whole life to good works. She touched so many people in her life and will be remembered in the hearts of them all.

Funeral service will be held at Faith Lutheran Church, 1212 Connection Street in Shelton, WA, September 14, 2024 at 2:00 p.m.