Barbara Kathleen Cover Spear

Barbara Kathleen Cover Spear

Barbara Kathleen Cover Spear, 68, peacefully returned to her heavenly home on July 30th after a valiant battle with cancer. Her devotion to her family and friends and firm belief in God supported her in her struggle and ultimately gave her peace.

Barbara was born in Socorro, New Mexico in 1951, and grew up there, graduating with honors from Socorro High School and studied at New Mexico Tech. She is preceded in death by her parents Edward Smith and Alpha Lee Brammer (Penny), and siblings Ben Brammer and Alison Summers. She is survived by her children, Megan Welsh and husband Ryan, and son Nick Lopez and granddaughters Deana and Paisley. She is also survived by a brother Mike Smith, sister Suzanne Smith, sister Charlotte Odom and Rosemary Smith. Barbara’s family grew to include wonderful stepchildren and many nieces and nephews that she remained close to and loved dearly as well.

Barbara was a dedicated Civil Servant for most of her adult life. In 1976, she was one of the only women fire crew bosses in the United States working for the US Forest Service. She later worked for the Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management as an Engineering Technician in the Division of Operations. She retired after 30 years with the US Army Corp of Engineers, as a project Engineer for the Office of Contract Administration. During her service with the Corp, Barbara worked for two years in Balad/Anaconda Iraq and served one term in Afghanistan. She retired in 2011 and started her own builder’s consulting service.

Barbara put love into everything she did. Wherever she lived she created beautiful flower gardens and improvements even when she didn’t own the property. She was awed by the beauty of the earth and God’s creations. Her presence on this earth will be missed by all that knew her. The family is planning a memorial service to be held in Socorro in the Spring of 2021.

El Defensor Chieftain