April 11, 1943 – February 17, 2026
Barbara Wiggins, a longtime resident of Aurora, Colorado, died February 17, 2026, at the Medical Center of Aurora. She was 82.
Barb was born on April 11, 1943, in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, to Leonard and Frances Henderson. She grew up in the tiny town of Bayard before the family moved to Scottsbluff while she was in high school. An accomplished flute player, she and her high school marching band performed at President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration parade in 1961.
Barb graduated from Colorado State University in Fort Collins in 1965 with a bachelor’s degree in home economics. She married Lamar Wiggins on June 14, 1969, and together they bought a home and settled in Aurora in 1972 — the same home Barb lived in until her passing.
Barb began her teaching career in Westminster before she and Lamar started a family. Over the next 13 years she proudly assumed the role of “Mom.”
When Lamar retired in 1987, Barb returned to the classroom, first as a substitute teacher, then as a fulltime teacher in Aurora Public Schools for nearly 20 years, before retiring from Gateway High School in 2008. When she wasn’t teaching cooking, food science and health education, Barb was an active member of the Colorado Chapter of P.E.O., a philanthropic organization that promotes education for women. She loved planting her flower garden each spring and spending a week in the summer vacationing in Jackson, Wyoming, a place she and her family traveled nearly every year to hike, picnic and relax.
For all the nights and weekends she dedicated to public education, Barb stayed just as busy in retirement. She sewed countless teddy bears and donated them to various charitable causes. She spent hours in her kitchen every week baking breads and cookies for church. In the months before her passing, she took up a new hobby: tutoring underprivileged children weekly. She cherished visiting her children and grandchildren in Ouray County, Texas and New Mexico.
Her faith was one of the biggest cornerstones of her life. She and Lamar were longtime members of Faith Presbyterian Church. Barb attended services every Sunday morning for more than 50 years, nearly without fail. She believed so strongly in absorbing the Sunday sermon and fellowshipping with others that she planned vacations and out-of-town trips around church, wanting to be sure she was seated in her usual pew on Sunday morning. Over the years she served as a church deacon, sang in the church choir, participated in various Bible studies, answered phone calls on Sunday morning and helped organize social hours after services. Whatever the need at church, Barb was eager to meet it.
Barb is survived by two children, Mike Wiggins (Erin) of Ridgway, Colorado, and Amy Dudley (Marcus) of Tuscola, Texas; her stepson Chuck Wiggins (Andrea) of Albuquerque, New Mexico; her stepdaughter Debbie Wiggins (Andy) of Boise, Idaho; and six grandchildren: Marisa, Amari, Andrew, Chris, Jamie and Reece. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Lamar; and her sister, Judy.
Services will be held at 10 a.m. March 13 at Faith Presbyterian Church in Aurora. A private interment will follow at Linn Grove Cemetery in Greeley.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Faith Presbyterian Church, 11373 E. Alameda Ave., Aurora, CO 80012.
Ouray County Plaindealer • 2026
