Rebecca Smith Barrett
June 26, 1950 - January 16, 2018

Rebecca was a wonderful, loving wife, and mother of four. She always engaged with others fully and completely, and gave of herself through her friendship and care. She taught school many years, and engaged her students in ways that encouraged them to see the world in new ways. She loved the outdoors, and drew others to her vision and passions. She loved languages, science, art, poetry, music, and too many other things to mention. She loved her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and served him faithfully her whole adult life. Her family was central to her life, and she adored her children and husband of 47 years.

Rebecca was born to Donald and Virginia Smith, and grew up in Southern California with her six siblings. Rebecca put her faith in Jesus at an early age, and she had many close friends in her church that lasted a lifetime. After graduating from high school in La Mirada, CA, Rebecca attended Biola University, where she met her husband, John, a fellow Biola student, while involved in a coffee house ministry. John and Rebecca were married on August 15, 1970, and had Kaitlyn, Nathan, and Bethany in California before moving to Washington in 1978, where Lorien was born. After spending several years in Washington, the Barrett family joined Wycliffe Bible Translators, an organization that translates the bible into native languages, and served in Guatemala for a year and four years in Colombia.

Upon returning to the United States in 1989, they settled in Wenatchee, WA, where Rebecca finished her Bachelors and Masters degrees in teaching, majoring in Spanish. As a teacher at Orondo Elementary and Middle School for over 20 years, she was fun, creative and musical, often bringing her guitar to class and singing with the children. Rebecca always had a fascination with science, and transitioned at the school from teaching Spanish to teaching science. She had an extensive collection of butterflies and other insects, and did many creative science projects with the class. Rebecca’s love for Jesus never wavered, and she always maintained a strong faith in her Savior. Rebecca was very involved in her spiritual life, forging strong, lasting friendships through her church family. Rebecca had a special place for the elderly, and spent many hours providing them friendship and assistance. She also volunteered her time, teaching English classes at the Literacy Council to non-
English speakers, and mentoring ladies at the Haven of Hope, a women’s shelter.

Rebecca is survived by her husband, John; children: Kaitlyn, Nathan, Bethany, and Lorien; father, Donald Smith; and her siblings: Allan, Philip, Pamela, Andrew, Marcella, and Claudia.

A Memorial celebrating Rebecca’s life will be held at Sage Hills Church on Saturday, March 10, 2018, at 1:00 p.m. Arrangements are by Chapel of the Valley funeral home, Wenatchee, WA, 509-884-3561.

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