Barbara created family everywhere she went.
Barbara’s extended family included longlife friends from childhood, her loved ones in Negril, and the hundreds of people who knew and loved her from Grateful Dead tour and the festival scene.
As a friend, Barbara was a joy to be around. She was care free, funny, wise, and direct. Her advice was caring but simple — one time when consoling a friend about their relationship troubles, she said, “You know how we talk, and we never fight? It’s easy to be together and we always get along. That’s what you need.”
Barbara surrounded herself with good people, and she was always down to sneak you into VIP — whether bribing security guards with ganja or playing the elderly grandma role, she could charm her way in anywhere. In Jamaica, where Barbara spent her winters, Barbara lived with Ms. Norma and her boyfriend David Thunder Smith. Together they hosted an endless array of locals and visitors for gatherings near the beach, and Barbara ensured that everyone went home with Thunder’s famous coffee. She helped Ms. Norma promote her rooms for rent and chickens for sale. Music was an important part of her life in Negril. One of her favorite local bands was The Overtakers, and Barbara once said that the String Cheese Incident song “Ms. Brown’s Teahouse” was written after she took the band to that very teahouse in Negril!
In the summers, Barbara would return to the States, travelling across the country. Barbara made friends everywhere she went — and she went a lot of places! She was especially fond of music festivals and concerts. In New Orleans, she had her JazzFest friends. In California, she had High Sierra and Reggae on the River. In Oregon there was the Country Fair, NedFest in Colorado, and on and on! In between weekend festivals, she would spend the weeks staying with friends around the country.
In the 1990s, Barbara spent time in nudist camps. She was often travelling alone as a woman, but she was never afraid of the people she met at the nudist colonies. “No one has a gun,” she said, “because they’re all naked!”
Barbara was unforgettable. Hanging out with her at a festival, countless people would recognize her. “Hey Barbara, we met in 2004. You gave me a ride when I was hitchhiking!” Everyone from headlining musicians to food vendors would come to see Barbara and say hi. She always had a story to tell, and within minutes of meeting someone new she would tell them “her story.” She once joked, “Within the first 15 minutes of meeting a person, I tell them who I am. That way, if they don’t like me, they can fuck off!”