Barbara Marie Heys Mason, 64, long-time Whidbey Island resident, passed away at her home on Dec. 30, 2006, after a short, but courageous battle with cancer.

Barbara was born on July 16, 1942, in Hackensack, N.J., to Charles Albert Heys and Amelia Marie Hess Heys. Her father worked for General Foods as a maintenance mechanic and her mother worked as a private secretary for Hoffman LaRoche until her children were born.

At an early age, Barbara took an interest in medicine and even dreamed of attending medical school. When her father did not survive open heart surgery and died a year before she graduated from high school, her dream would be left unfulfilled as the family struggled to make ends meet.

Barbara worked as a clerk secretary for Spinnerin Yarn Company and later as a secretary for Gray Way Precision in Paramus, N.J.

She married Donald Cullen, owner of an over-the-road trucking business. They lived in Montvale and Hackensack. It was on a visit to the Jersey shore to see relatives that they decided to buy what became their daughter Debbie’s first home. Their only child, she was born on May 7, 1966.

After Barbara and Don parted, she met and married Navy man Rick Mason. Although she had never physically been in the Pacific Northwest, she felt the west calling even when walking New Jersey’s beaches. As a child, she read books about snow, mountains, Native Americans and the Pacific Ocean. The moment she set foot on Whidbey Island, she felt she had come home.

She took a job with local attorney John W. Wohl and then went to work at NAS Whidbey Island in 1978 with Search and Rescue Operations. She felt she was part of something important and people trusted her to get the job done.

Next she moved to the NAS Legal Office where she was the sole employee until a military person came onboard. Over the years, her reputation as a professional earned her the praise of many legal officers, commanding officers and executive officers.

She was truly proud to be a federal employee. Whether working with the Military Personnel Command on discharges, answering communications from the regional authority or helping a young Navy family, Barbara made a difference by being there.

She was granted several promotions and upgrades for her performance, and retired in January 2002 as a GS-9 Paralegal Specialist. She looked forward to a slower pace in which to work on home improvements and to enjoy being with her five granddaughters.

Surviving Barbara are her daughter Debbie Soto and partner David Peterson; granddaughters Marisa, Breanna, Kaitlin, McKenna and Saige; partner Rick Horning; brother David C. Heys; and nieces Kerry Fisher and Bonnie Heys.

The family will hold a memorial at 134 W. Green Valley Road on Sunday, Jan. 7, at 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation to the American Cancer Society be made in her name.