Barbara "Babs" Winston Boswell's Obituary
Barbara “Babs” Winston Boswell, 77, slipped peacefully from this life on December 6, 2025, at Meadow Brook Rehab and Skilled Nursing in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was born on December 27, 1947, in Salt Lake City, Utah and was the youngest child among five born to Winston Eugene Lay and Marjorie Grace Ensign Lay.
From the beginning, Babs carried a spark all her own- unafraid to color outside the lines and dance to the beat of her own drum. As the adored baby of the family, she kept close ties with her surviving siblings, Ted and Kathi, writing many letters and speaking of them often, always with much love.
Faith was Babs’ compass, her anchor, and her sacred poetry. She loved the Bible with fierce devotion- its verses marked, highlighted, whispered, and held close. Her scriptures were always open, full of creases and color, echoing back her strong devotion and striving purpose. Her truest gifts lived in the creative corners of her life: in the books she studied, the countless journals she kept, poems she recorded on any near scrap of paper, and the imaginative way she saw the world.
Babs worked as a legal secretary in her early adult years and navigated through lifelong challenges with a courage that often went unseen and yet, she remained unmistakably herself- boldly unconventional and spunky to say the least. Anywhere she stayed- hospitals or care centers- she quickly became “the favorite.” Nurses adored her. Doctors lingered a little longer in her doorway. She was quick to befriend fellow patients offering any encouraging support possible with open arms. She had a way of making people feel like they’d discovered a hidden treasure.
Her only child, Halley, was the great love woven through her life. Their journey together included challenges, distance, and complexities that shaped them both and cemented an unconventional bond they both treasure. As Halley reflects now, she does so with deep gratitude for the strength, resilience, and creativity she gained from her childhood.
Babs is preceded in death by her parents, Winston and Marjorie Lay, and two siblings, Gary Lay and Dana Wodtke. She is survived by her daughter Halley Seim (Nate Seim), and her three grandchildren, Easton, Berkley, and Capri. Babs is also survived by her sister Kathi Bruce and brother Ted Lay as well as nieces and nephews.
A graveside service for Babs will be held at 2:00pm on Friday, December 12, 2025 at the Riverton City Cemetery.
She will be remembered with love- for her quirky creativity, unwavering devotion to her faith, tender compassion, spunk, and her natural gift of endearing herself to others within moments.
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