Barbara E. Lott

3/1/1939 — 3/11/2018

Service Date: 3/31/2018
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Barbara Evelyn Lott died Sunday, March 11, 2018, at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Lewiston, after a long battle with diabetes. She was 79.

She was born March 1, 1939, in Milford, Mass., to Reggie and Katie Bentley. She graduated from St. Mary's High School in Milford in 1957. The Wyman-Gordon Co. hired her as a mail clerk the same year. She worked her way up to executive secretary during her four years there.

From 1960 to 1962, she taught ballroom dance for Arthur Murray Dance Studios. In 1961, she also worked at Fairbrook Country Club, where she had many responsibilities, including taking reservations for concerts with Count Basie, Duke Ellington and the Glen Miller Orchestra.

She left Massachusetts in 1963 to visit her aunt, Evelyn, in Idaho. She met her husband at his business, BoJack's Broiler Pit, in Lewiston. She married Ted Lott on July 17, 1963. Barbara worked with Ted at BoJack's until 1967. She stayed at home for two years after giving birth to her daughter, Regina, in 1968. In 1970, she and her husband opened the Villa Tavern on 21st Street. At the Villa, she loved to listen to the jukebox as she tended bar. She stayed at home full time after the birth of her son, Vernon, in 1975.

In the early '80s, she and a group of neighbors saved Webster Elementary from closing with organized protests. Inspired by this effort, she continued to work with Webster's Parent Teacher Association. She started her community service as a teenager with school fundraisers. In 1958, she served as department chairwoman for the United Way and the Red Cross. In 1967, she served as first vice-president of Alpha Lambda Chapter Epsilon Sigma Alpha, a community service sorority. She drew on these experiences as Webster PTA president in 1986, Jenifer PTA president in 1987, District 2 Idaho PTA president in 1990, Idaho PTA first vice-president 1992-93, Idaho PTA president 1993-94, and member of the National PTA board of directors.

Her work involved more than bake sales. She wrote bylaws, managed budgets and prepared teacher appreciation luncheons. She spoke to the state Legislature promoting bills that served the children of Idaho. She earned an Idaho Life Merit Award from the Jenifer PTA in 1990. She catered and helped plan the annual Partnerships in Education Conference for many years. As a member of the Parent Advisory Committee to the Lewiston School District, she organized call centers to pass maintenance and operation levies. In 1996, the National Congress of Parents and Teachers conferred upon her an honorary life membership. She loved all of this work. It saddened her to let it go because of her declining health.

Barbara's daughter, Regina Lott; son Vernon Lott (Jenny); sister Kathleen Morris; brother Thomas Bentley (Mary Anne); uncle Kenneth Merrill; and nieces and nephews survive her.

Her husband, mother, father and many aunts and uncles preceded her in death.

Her funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Vassar-Rawls Funeral Home. A funeral Mass will follow in Uxbridge, Mass., at a later date.

Donations can be made in her name to the American Diabetes Association; the Lewis Clark Animal Shelter; or Webster PTA.