Barbara Buckley

Barbara Ann Buckley (neé Kaferly)

It was a well-known fact among the Kaferly/Buckley family members that if you owned a dog or a cat, in all likelihood your pet would fall in love with Barbara. Her gift with animals went beyond the usual household pets and extended to an array of feral cats, birds, foxes, squirrels, and racoons, all of whom recognized in Barbara a devoted animal lover and willing caretaker for all her furry and feathered friends.

She had a deep understanding of their wordless needs and comforts. And animals instinctively knew her to be a friend. Her warm nature and kind heart extended to her human relations as well. Though Barbara sometimes may have wished she had been an only child, she proved to be a generous, protective, and devoted mentor to her three younger sisters (Adele, Diane, and Christine).

Barbara Ann Kaferly Buckley was born August 8, 1946, in Chicago, Illinois, to George and Adele Kaferly. As the first born, Barbara had the responsibility of helping to guide her sisters and act as peacemaker when conflicts arose. She took on this role with great good humor and tender, sisterly authority.

After the Kaferly family moved from Chicago to Denver, Colorado in 1964, Barbara went on to attend the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Her joie de vivre can be illustrated by the story she would tell of when her mother joined her at college for a weekend. They hosted a dorm party where the two Kaferly women proved so popular that later, because of the noise and frivolity, they were both hauled into the Dean’s office and sternly admonished.

Her deep interest in literature and history remained throughout her life.  In college she studied Western history and literature, which informed her interests and activities in adulthood.  Barbara was equally at home discussing the intricate plot of Beowulf as well as the latest crochet design, in which she excelled. She had a fine appreciation of culture and tradition, and would have been quite at home in any elegant English country house.

In 1968, Barbara married Dale Buckley, who survives her. Together they founded and operated Buckley & Company, a Colorado business of Precision Sheet Metal for over 20 years. Throughout their years together, Barbara and Dale also cared for a series of cats (Bosco I, Bosco II, Emma, Tom, Buddy, Buster, Amanda, Max, Oliver), and Sparky the Wonder-dog whom Barbara rescued after he had been hit by a car in front of their house. She possessed a deep and profound sense of spirituality, which sprang from her education and upbringing.

Barbara Ann passed away on 17 October 2022, at the age of 76, after enduring and surviving a series of illnesses including cancer.  She will be deeply missed by her husband, Dale Buckley, three beloved cats (Amanda, Max, and Oliver), as well as her three sisters, a nephew who is also their godson (Donald Jones of New York) and two nieces (Olivia Kaferly of Zürich Switzerland, and Sarah Leys of Wisconsin).