Barbara Lavelle Labhart-Harp, 84

Barbara Lavelle Labhart-Harp, 84, passed away peacefully on May 12, 2020, with her daughters holding each hand.

She had a long struggle with leukemia and is finally free of her pain and suffering. She was a wonderful mother and grandmother who did so much and asked for so little.

She was born to the late Wendell and Beatrice Labhart on Jan. 15, 1936, in Santa Monica, California. “Barbi” graduated from Van Nuys High School where she met the love of her life, Douglas “Dougie-Good-Guy” Harp. She also went to school with Robert Redford and Natalie Wood, whom Doug was dating before he met the irresistibly beautiful Barb.

She married Doug on Feb. 8, 1960, and lived in Simi Valley, California. They both sang in Barbershop and Sweet Adelines and were known for their infamous singing-martini parties that would go into the wee hours of the night. Barb competed internationally, both with her chorus and her quartet, and won numerous awards. She always enjoyed the annual Barbershop camping trip with her family, singing and having fun with her many friends. They later moved to Truckee. California, where Barb continued to sing and worked at Tahoe Forest Hospital as a medical transcriptionist. She and Doug built a home together with the help of her father, Wendell. They raised their two daughters in Truckee and decided they did not want to deal with the snow anymore and moved to Santa Rosa, California, in 1985.

Barb worked at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital and loved her job. She enjoyed wine tasting, singing, visiting her sister, Jenny, and cooking. (She was an amazing cook.) She had a wonderful sense of humor and stayed quick-witted until she passed. She moved to Whitefish and worked at KRMC after Doug passed in 2001 to be with her family. She was able to retire there and traveled a bit before she passed. (She would even bring her Cockatiel bird, Cheeky, with her.) Barb will be greatly missed by friends and family.

She is survived by her two daughters, Kerry Harp-McFeely and Kim Vasquez; her two sons-in-law Tony Vasquez and Tony Loiacono; and her three grandchildren, Hailey Vasquez, Kelsey McFeely and Micah McFeely; and all of her nieces, nephews and cousins. May she rest in peace.

Thank you to North Valley Hospital for making her so comfortable in her last days. There will be a service this summer for her and her ashes will be spread in the Whitefish mountains so she can be with her sister, Jenny Isackson.

Austin Funeral & Cremation Services in Whitefish is caring for the family.