Barbara Ellen Haney

75, passed away on December 27th, at home surrounded by her family. She was preceded in death by her husband, Buzz Haney, and her brother, Larry Sweeney. She is survived by her three children, John (Diana) Haney, Mary Kate Haney, Paul (Carlett) Haney; her sisters Anne Sloan and Joan Anderies; and four grandchildren. Visitation will be held at Horan & McConaty Family Chapel at 1091 S. Colorado Blvd from 5 to 7 pm on Thursday, followed by a rosary. Mass will be held at Christ the King Catholic Church at 11 am on Friday with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, please contribute to the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org. Born in Manitowoc, Wisconsin while her family was heading west in 1938, Barbara spent only her first year or so in the state that she would call her place of birth. Barb eventually made her way to the home city of her maternal grandparents and settled in with her parents and three older siblings (Anne, Joan, and Larry) at the corner of 6th avenue and Galapago Street. The location was ideal for a Catholic family because the home was directly across the street from the St Joseph church and school in the Archdiocese of Denver. This corner would be the place Barb called home for the next 25 years as she progressed through St Joe's grade school and high school, graduating in 1956. Barb established many lasting friendships with her graduating classmates, friendships that endured the 57 years between graduation and her passing. She clung to memories of her high school job and Vollmer's bakery and her post-graduation work for a freight company named ICX (Illinois-California Express). Barb's family had instilled in her from an early age an interest in the cultures and traditions of Mexico and Ireland, places she would visit and from which she would return filled with memories and stories. A trip to Mexico after completing high school almost entangled her permanently as several local boys fell for her charm and delightful smile (we've got the photos to prove it, too). A trip to Ireland with her siblings would have to wait until later in life. It was in 1963 that she met and fell head-over-heels for Fredrick Haney. Called ""Buzz"" by his family and friends, he had graduated from West High School and then spent time in the Navy doing his part to help us through the Korean conflict. But he was so enamored with Barb that he undertook the catechesis and sacramental preparations to join the Church. These preparations and the marriage that followed in January of 1964 set the stage for the family that would follow. Three children arrived in quick succession (John in '65, Mary Catherine (Kate) in '66, and Paul in '67). Although work was not always plentiful, Buzz had joined the team at the Denver Lumber Company and provided for the household while Barb got the kids up each morning and off to school, first to St John the Evangelist grade school and then to Machebeuf and Manual high schools. Frequent trips into the mountains and the occasional trip into New Mexico provided respite from the busy-ness of life and updates to the home on Jackson Street were inevitable with a carpenter under the roof. Buzz and Barb held season tickets to the Broncos' games and very rarely missed a home game over the course of 20 years. Barb continued to follow the Broncos with zeal, win or lose, until her last days! She added to her football passion a strong following of the Fighting Irish: she and Kate had watched most of the University of Notre Dame games in recent years. It was not long before Kate had a small successful restaurant in Cherry Creek North and John and Paul had married and begun families of their own. The arrival of the first grandson (Matthew) in 1994 was followed by the arrival of the other 3 (Heather, Camille, and Michael) in 1998. Unfortunately, this was also the year that Buzz passed away after battling emphysema and Barb was on her own on Jackson Street where she remained for nearly 10 years before following several friends and family members to the community of Windsor Gardens (WG). She made so many friends at WG that her door seemed only to be closed when the sun went down. She remodeled the unit she bought and it became a veritable ""corner bar."" If you knew the password (usually just a loud ""hello"" from the door), you were sure to be fed and given a cold drink – the conversation and laughter could be heard across the street sometimes! Kate sold her restaurant and eventually chose to move in with Barb (there was plenty of room) and re-kindle a close and intimate friendship that brought them both great joy for a number of years. After her retirement in 2006, Barb fell into a sweet part time gig with a local nutrition bar company called LARABAR. Acquired by General Mills in 2008, Barb flourished at the Denver office for Small Planet Foods, handling numerous projects which included gift bag assembly for the annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, television's Emmy awards, and fulfillment of other high profile or celebrity shipments. She thoroughly enjoyed her time there and prided herself on the quality of the work she produced. She was regarded as the ""secret weapon"" of the office because of both the speed and the finesse with which she accomplished the tasks set before her. If the front door at WG was closed, it was a good bet that they were ""up the hill"" pulling the slot machines in Blackhawk. In November, unexpectedly and abruptly, Barb went to the doctor's office with an incapacitating pain in her abdomen. She was diagnosed with an advanced cancer that cast a shadow on Thanksgiving and remained until a couple of days after Christmas, when she passed away peacefully in her own bedroom with family holding her hands. It's a good bet that if you ever met Barb, you have a handful of memories that we ask you to hang on to and share if anyone ever asks you about her!