Margaret Ellen Barrett 1950-2012

BARRETT, LAFOLLETTE, DOBSON

Posted By: Curtis (email)
Date: 5/2/2012 at 11:00:56

DEATH NOTICE:

(The Leon Journal-Reporter Leon, Iowa March 28, 2012)

BARRETT, Margaret, 62, of Winterset, Iowa and formerly of Leon, Iowa died on Saturday, March 17, 2012 at the Winterset Care Center North in Winterset. Funeral services were at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 21, 2012 at St. Brendan's Catholic Church in Leon, Iowa with Father Christopher Pisut and Deacon Reinhold Kunze officiating. Interment was in the Leon Cemetery, Leon, Iowa. Arrangements were through the Slade-O'Donnell Funeral Home of Leon and Lamoni, Iowa.

Memorials may be given to St. Brendan's Catholic Church.

Obituary -

(The Leon Journal-Reporter Leon, Iowa March 28, 2012)

MARGARET ELLEN BARRETT 1950-2012 ... Margaret Ellen Barrett, age 62, the fourth child of William Dennis and Lenore Mary [LaFollette] Barrett, was born March 3, 1950. She was diagnosed with Down's Syndrome at Mayo Clinic shortly after her birth in Leon, Iowa. Her parents chose to make Margaret a vibrant part of their family.

They provided an environment that allowed her to achieve many things beyond the original expectations of 1950 with a wide variety of learning experiences and growing up surrounded by a large extended family of cousins and friends.

When Margaret was five she started school at Central Decatur in Leon. She attended special education classes there until 1967. She loved learning to read and write and cheering for the Cardinals. She was very involved in faith activities. She was a teacher's helper for pre-school and kindergarten religious education cutlasses at St. Brendan's Catholic Church for many years. She loved to sing and was a member of the church choir of St. Brendan's and later St. Malachy's in Creston, Iowa.

Margaret lived in the family home until 1991, when she transitioned to supported living with Southern Iowa Resources for Families (SIRF) in Creston, after the death of her mother and her father's move to a care center. SIRF provided opportunities for involvement in Special Olympics, where Margaret won over 100 ribbons and medals, summer camps, college football games, concerts, movies, picnics, parades, and socials. SIRF also required developing work skills, Margaret's work was through Innovative Industries. In 1994 she was recognized as Consumer of the Year and in 2005 as Good Citizen of the Year.

When Margaret was in her mid-50's, all the heart complications associated with Down's Syndrome abruptly affected her. She no longer had the stamina to maintain her busy life and eventually both physically and mentally she needed ever increasing assistance. By January 2009, she required complete care and was moved to the Winterset Care Center North where they provided wonderful care. Hospice was contacted March 7, 2012 to provide additional special care until her death on St. Patrick's Day.

Margaret was preceded in death by her parents and brother Don. She is survived by her brother Rick Barrett and wife Judy of Four Seasons, Missouri; sister Mary Dobson and husband Ron of Ankeny, Iowa; three nephews and one niece and their families; many cousins; and many friends.