On November 22, 2022 at 6:48am, Eleanor Iilene Barrett (Brandt) at nearly 91-years young passed away peacefully in her home from natural causes surrounded by loving family members.
As a woman of sincere faith and conviction, Eleanor has gone to be in the presence of the Lord Jesus after fighting the good fight and is in her new permanent home in heaven. Although we have a profound sadness for her passing, we also have great joy knowing that she is in the presence of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with a new whole and complete body and no longer has to endure ongoing debilitating physical ailments.
Eleanor was born on December 9, 1930 in Encinitas, CA to Amandus and Helen Brandt before soon moving to and growing up in the Yakima, WA area. She was married to Raymond E Barrett at age 20, raised six children primarily in the Portland, OR area, and lived her entire life in the Pacific Northwest. As a daughter of a fruit orchard grower and mother of six children, she was strong at heart and spirit and well acquainted with hard work and the often thankless job of loving/caring for family and friends.
Full of life and a passion for family, flowers/plants/gardening, animals, travel, outdoors, artistic tole painting including Russian artwork, and well-known for creating handcrafted wood and gourd keepsake holiday decorations (Santa Clauses and snowmen) that were sold at local Christmas bazaars in the Portland, Seattle, and Boise areas for over 30-years. Eleanor independently lived on her own and was self-dependent for over 30-years including during the last 10-years in her Boise home. Never idle and always working on a wide variety of art projects, she frequently complained to medical staff almost to the very end that “I don’t have time for this . . . I have a lot of work that needs to be done”. Eleanor had a clear and active mind and a good sense of humor even to the end including making her son swear that he would always keep her collection of treasured marbles to ensure that she “never lost her marbles”.
Eleanor was predeceased by her eldest son Stephen Barrett, ex-husband Raymond Barrett, parents Amandus and Helen Brandt, and siblings Everett Brandt, Merrill Brandt, and Nyla Swanson. She is survived by her brother Lyle Brandt, her children Raylene Keating, Craig Barrett, Yolanda Davis, Amanda Beaver, and Kirkland Barrett, her 18 grandchildren (ages 11-45), and her 19 great grandchildren (ages 1-13).
Eleanor will be laid to rest at Dry Creek Cemetery in Boise Idaho. Eleanor was loved by all, will be sorely missed by family and friends, and will continue to influence and live forever in the hearts and lives of her surviving loving family, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and friends.
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