BARBARA CAMPBELL BROWN

Surrounded by family and friends, Barbara Jean Campbell Brown slipped quietly and unexpectedly from our lives the morning of October 9, 2018, in Las Vegas. A precocious child, Barbara read extensively. By the time she was nine years old, she declared James Baldwin among her favorite authors, after reading all of his novels, which today are studied by university students. Adventurous by nature and although still a child, Barbara explored the ethnic enclaves of New York City, her birthplace, making friends wherever she went. While surviving Catholic school, Barbara’s artistry blossomed as she made clothes of her own design, began painting, and spent summers exploring nature in Upstate New York with her host family who affectionately nicknamed her “Jo.” Barbara married high school sweetheart George Campbell and immediately began enjoying life on U.S. Air Force bases abroad. She absorbed Spanish culture, attended bull runs, and traced the Moroccan influence on Spanish architecture during her years in Spain. While living in Japan, Barbara’s skill in ikebana was noted by an ikebana master and she became the first non-Japanese student to be invited to study under him. Barbara was an accomplished painter and when one of her paintings fell from her car, a passerby immediately carried it to the police believing it to be of great value. More recently, Barbara’s artistry manifested in her design and creation of pearl and stone encrusted jewelry. Professionally, Barbara was a dietary technician at Life Care of Nevada, where she worked for over 20 years. In August, Barbara spent two weeks in Paris with her daughter, Leslie, and they were finalizing plans to spend two weeks in Marrakech, Morocco, in March 2019. Barbara was preceded in death by George, and leaves behind daughters, Heather Alvarez and Dr. Leslie Campbell Hime; sons, Kenneth Campbell and Harry Smith; and grandchildren, Owen Campbell, AubryHanna, Carlos, Carla and Lorenzo Alvarez. Barbara’s life will be celebrated at 7 p.m. Fri., Nov. 2, at her workplace, Life Care of Las Vegas, 6151 Vegas Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89108.