1930 – 2023

Barbara Ann (Henson) Rydberg peacefully passed away after a 4-year battle with cancer on February 13, 2023 at her Lopez Island home surrounded by her three daughters and their families. She would have been 93 in April.

Barbara was born in Maryville, Missouri, moving to Mt Vernon, Washington with her family at the age of 4. Graduating from MT Vernon High School in 1948, she then attended Skagit Valley College. This is where she met her husband Gordon Al Rydberg from Anacortes WA, who preceded her in death in 2013.

Relocating was major part of Barbara’s life as her husband built a career at Standard Oil requiring eleven moves during her lifetime with their three girls. She and her husband retired to Lopez Island in 1986. Barbara supported many charitable organizations on the island. She was a lifetime member of Beta Sigma Phi, an international women’s sorority. As a charter member, she never missed a Seahawk game. Making donuts for her grand and great-grandchildren was a favorite pastime.

She leaves behind her three daughters and their husbands, G’Ann and Franz Stratil, Constance Rydberg and Nick Johnson, Catherine and Greg Olson; as well as her beloved four grandchildren, Stephanie, Thomas, and Christopher Stratil, and Austin Rydberg Beatty; her six great-grandchildren Julius, Oscar, Romina, Jona, Marlon, Olivia; her younger brother Terry Henson of Arizona; her sister-in-law Jean Henson of Mt. Vernon and numerous nieces and nephews from the Rydberg/Henson families.

Barbara will be laid to rest next to her husband at the Lopez Island Cemetery. Donations can be made to: Hospice of the Northwest Foundation, P.O. Box 1376, Mt. Vernon, WA 98273

Arrangements are in the care of Evans Funeral Chapel & Onsite Crematory Inc, Anacortes, WA.