Claudia Ochoa Barrett
December 4, 1962 - November 15, 2016

Claudia Helena Ochoa Vélez de Barrett was born in Medellin, Colombia, the "city of eternal springtime". She lived her early years on her grandmother's ranch, with pet monkeys, parrots, and capybaras. In her teens she moved to Bogotá and attended the Siervas de San Jose school. She had many life-long friends from secondary school. She studied Civil Engineering at the Escuela Colombiana de Ingenieria Julio Garavito, and later earned a specialization in Construction Project Management at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, and subsequently worked as an engineer in Bogotá. Likewise, she maintained life-long friends from each step in her profession.

Claudia always was interested in the arts, working with fabrics, knitting, photography, stained glass, painting, ceramics, and jewellery. While she travelled, she took the time to visit with local craftspeople. In Thailand she visited the northern tribes who do textile arts. In Turkey she visited the women who make beautiful carpets and kilims. In Panama and Colombia she visited the Kuna people who make mola textile arts. She enjoyed watching creative hands in different parts of the world, and was inspired by them in her work. In recent years she studied jewellery and metalworking at the Alberta College of Art + Design.

In March of 1998 Claudia married Dr. Andrew Barrett, and nine months later she had a family of four with the birth of twins Sophia and Emilio. During the twins' early years she lived in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, a very interesting land, and a very comfortable community for a mother of young children. She travelled in and out of Saudi Arabia, earned a scuba diving card, and made many more friends along the way.

In 2003 Claudia made Calgary her permanent home. Her principal activity over these 13 years has been to raise her children, but she also found time to earn a Certificate in Land Management from Mount Royal College, work a few years as a Geophysical Technologist, participate with UChurch womens' activities, and study, design, and fabricate jewellery. Claudia was active in the Prairie Mountaineer Hiking Club, and she helped with Special Olympics cross-country skiing. Whenever possible she brought her camera and captured images of people and nature along the paths. In 2014 Claudia became a Canadian citizen.

Claudia's cancer was detected while passing through Newark, New Jersey on her way back to Calgary from her winter home in Rincón, Puerto Rico, where she had made friends in church, yoga, and community. She had only wonderful things to say about her ten day stay in Newark where treatment was begun. She was granted an additional year and a half of life after the cancer was detected. In these final 18 months she translated a book on the Christian life from English to Spanish, she proudly saw her children grow to be responsible young adults, a tumultuous mother-daughter relationship was resolved, and the challenging development of her son made clear. Treatment at Tom Baker Cancer Centre and finally Rosedale Hospice completed her life story.

Relatives and friends are invited to a visitation at Choice Memorial (105-4715 13th Street NE) on Sunday, November 27, 2016 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm. Funeral Service will be held at Bow Valley Christian Church (5300-53 Avenue NW) on Monday, November 28, 2016 at 11:00 am. Graveside Service to follow at Queen's Park Cemetery. To view and share photos, condolences and stories of Claudia, please visit www.choicememorial.com. Arrangements entrusted to the care of Choice Memorial Cremation & Funeral Services (403) 277-7343.