Barbara Ann (Lewis) Goldman, 76, of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, passed away Sunday, September 24, 2023, at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff. A celebration of Barbara’s life will be held at 1 p.m., Friday, September 29, 2023, at the Scottsbluff First United Methodist Church (The Vine Church). Online condolences may be expressed by visiting Barbara’s obituary page viewable at www.reverencefuneralparlor.com.
Barb was born February 24, 1947, in Chadron, Nebraska to Claude and Helen (Waldron) Lewis and raised in Crawford, Nebraska where she graduated high school. She attended nursing school in Scottsbluff after graduation, where she earned a bachelor’s degree. Barb worked as a registered nurse at Regional West Medical Center from 1968 until her retirement in 2013.
She met and married Robert J. Goldman, and they became the proud parents of Erika and Michael.
Barbara’s interests beyond her family and career included her home, yard, and garden. She also loved to travel, exploring the country and world via road trips, trains and cruising the open ocean. Barbara greatly valued her time with friends and her very large chosen family for whom she loved to cook for, visit and chat with – many of which partially grew up in the Goldman home, playing in their yard and learning to cook in Barb’s kitchen. After dinner, many hours were spent at the dining room table playing cards, laughing, telling stories, and enjoying Barb’s homemade desserts. Her stories were always gripping. They ranged from her childhood memories traveling, to her mom in their kitchen, her dad and his service station, her brothers (and all their antics), to her career and all the special nurses she worked with and built deep relationships which lasted her lifetime. Barb was also drawn to tracing her roots through genealogy and helping others do the same on her own and through the Western Nebraska Family Research and History Center.
She also had a personal mission to ensure that Veterans, particularly WWII Vets, were remembered for their heroism and worked tirelessly to get as many as possible on Honor Flights to Washington DC. She wrote hundreds, if not thousands, of personal letters to every soldier who traveled. She escorted veterans two separate times, once with her father.
Survivors include her husband of 52 years, Robert Goldman of Scottsbluff; children, Erika Tikalsky of Scottsbluff and Michael Goldman and his wife Jamie of Golden, CO; grandson, Alexander Tikalsky of Scottsbluff; her brothers, Ken Lewis of Elizabeth, CO and Rick Lewis of Alliance, NE; mother-in-law, Helen Goldman of Tucson, AZ; brother-in-law, Dr. Richard Goldman of Los Angeles, CA; and sister-in-law, Heidi Goldman of Tucson, AZ.