Barbara Berkenfield

                                                         Barbara Berkenfield

Barbara Berkenfield of Santa Fe peacefully left us on November 10, 2022, two days after her 87th birthday. Barbara had been battling prolonged illnesses, and she passed with loved ones at her side.

 Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Barbara graduated  Summa Cum Laude from Wellesley College, where she studied History of Art, and  was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in her junior year. After graduation she went to New York for graduate studies at Colombia University.  Barbara’s fascination with the art of the French Impressionists led her to the renowned Wildenstein Gallery in New York, which specialized in Impressionist art and Old Masters. There she worked as the research assistant to M. Georges Wildenstein, the president of the gallery, and an acknowledged scholar in the arts.

New York in the 1950s was an exhilarating experience  for a young woman from Pittsburgh.  Barbara greatly enjoyed the music scene in New York, and had friends in the jazz world that was dazzling New York in those days.  At a party in New York’s Greenwich Village she met John Berkenfield, and their lives together began, to the sounds of trumpets and drums.  John , recently discharged from the army, had plans to go to Europe for a year, where he drove from the fjords of Norway to the Sahara on his Vespa motor scooter. He returned in one piece, and Barbara and John, now a new employee of IBM, were married in 1960. They went to Europe on their honeymoon, their first international trip together.

Barbara had their first son Andy, left her job at Wildenstein, and they moved from Greenwich Village to Westchester County, where John now worked.  IBM then sent John to manage the IBM exhibit at a  World’s Fair in San Antonio, Texas called HemisFair ’68.  This was the first time either of these young Easterners had ever been to the West of the United States, and it was a different world for them. The little family enjoyed regular forays into Mexico, where they became fascinated by Mexican folk art.  Barbara learned to ride horses, and greatly enjoyed the exciting life in a wonderful city dedicated to making visitors to HemisFair cherish their experiences in south Texas.

They returned to New York after the Fair, and the company sent both Barbara and John on a trip to Japan, where John helped IBM Japan plan for their participation in the huge World’s Fair called Expo ’70 in Osaka. It was Barbara’s first Asian trip, and she was fascinated by Japanese art and their complex culture.    John then joined the international division of IBM, where he remained for the rest of his career with the company.  A second son, Jim, was born in 1969, and in 1973 John was assigned to IBM’s headquarters in Paris for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. That assignment, which lasted seven years, changed the life of the young family.

Barbara was an easy fit in France.  She spoke excellent French, thrived on the French life and culture, and was eager to experience as much as possible during their assignment in Europe.  They traveled to every country in Western Europe, made frequent trips to North Africa, went on safari in East Africa, visited the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Russia, and enjoyed every trip the family made.  They all made lifetime friendships with other assignees, classmates at the American School of Paris, and French and European families. 

They returned to New York after seven wonderful and exciting years in Europe, and learned how to live in the US again.  Barbara volunteered at a local school, worked as a contractor for IBM, and began to write poetry reflective of her life experiences.  In the mid-1980s, the family made a trip that would once again change their lives.  They took a Spring Break trip to the Grand  Canyon, and visited the Hopi and Navajo reservations in Arizona, and absolutely loved it.  The following year, Barbara and John made their first trip to Santa Fe, and it was love at first sight.

Andy, now out of college, and Jim,  a junior at Cornell also loved their Southwestern experiences.  John took early retirement from IBM, and he and Barbara moved to Santa Fe in 1989.  Barbara, always interested in arts, history and culture, became a docent interpreter at El Rancho de Las Golondrinas, where John worked, and continued there for 25 years.  She volunteered at the Santa Fe Indian Market for nearly 30 years, as well as the Santa Fe Food Depot.  Barbara was fascinated by the diverse and complex culture and the people of Northern New Mexico, and soon began writing articles for local publications such as Santa Fe Magazine, the New Mexican and Pasatiempo.  She put her history of art studies and experience to good use, and worked for a number of years in several galleries in Santa Fe on the Plaza and Canyon Road.  She enthusiastically embraced Southwestern and Native art and artists, and particularly enjoyed talking to visitors to Santa Fe about our unique art scene.

Barbara had been putting her thoughts and reflections on paper in the form of poetry for many years.   At the urging of friends and family, she finally put a book of her poems together, published by Sunset Press of Santa Fe.  Three more books of poetry followed, as well as a biography of a well-known New Mexican artist.

Travel had been vibrant part of Barbara’s life for many years, and it continued from Santa Fe.  Both of their sons had now moved to the West,  Andy in San Francisco and Jim in Idaho.  Driving trips throughout the Southwest and to California and Idaho became a regular part of their lives.  Barbara and John also continued their international travel, returning frequently to Europe, enjoying French Polynesia, making many trips to Mexico, and visiting friends in Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Brazil, and Argentina.

Barbara’s love of her family was the center of her life.  Andy and Suzie and their kids Jack and Colette, and Jim and Sue and their kids Sam, Eli and Maggie gave Barbara  constant pride and joy.  Both Barbara and John’s brothers and most of their large families were also in the West, and seeing and traveling with them  was also a source of immense pleasure. 

Barbara dealt with her prolonged illnesses with courage,  and she adapted well to the significant physical constraints imposed by her illness.  She left us with poignant memories of a life well lived.

Barbara will be interred in the Santa Fe National Cemetery, and a celebration of her life will be held in the Spring of 2023.  In lieu of flowers, donations to the Santa Fe Food Depot in Barbara’s memory will be appreciated.