Local Author, Historian, and Long-time Fort Collins Resident, Barbara Frances Stimmel Fleming, Died at Age 85

Barbara passed away at Brookdale North in Loveland, on November 12, 2021.

Barbara was born at Poudre Valley Hospital on January 12, 1936, to Lester and Margaret Stimmel in Fort Collins, who in 1929 came to Colorado Agricultural & Mechanical College to teach. Lester taught English for 40 years and Margaret taught bacteriology until her death in 1960.

Barbara studied English and writing at Colorado State University, eventually obtaining a master’s degree in rhetoric. After raising two sons and a daughter with her first husband Harley Allbrandt, she worked as a journalist at the Fort Collins Coloradoan newspaper for several years. As the daughter of two teachers, she then became what she had always known she would: a teacher of writing and literature. She eventually wanted to write books of her own, beginning with Fort Collins: A Pictorial History (1985). Her other works include: Then and Now Fort Collins (2010), Legendary Locals of Fort Collins (2013), Fort Collins: The Miller Photographs (2009), Fort Collins: A History (2014), Images of America: Poudre Canyon (2015). Barbara was well known for her weekly column in the Fort Collins Coloradoan newspaper, “A Walk Through History.” Her book, Hidden History of Fort Collins (2017), collected her newspaper columns. She also wrote a novel, Journeying (2019), loosely based on the early history of Fort Collins. Her most recent work was My Name Is Meggie, a sequel to Journeying. Barbara was recently honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquis’s Who’s Who in American Women and is included in the 2020 edition of the book. (See authorbarbarafleming.com for more information about Barbara’s books)

Barbara was known for being a regular visitor to the library, reading five to seven books a week, playing bridge whenever she could, volunteering with local nonprofits, and participating in a senior-center education program. Until this year, she lived in Fort Collins with her lively gray cat, Shadow.

Barbara was preceded in death by her second husband Tom Fleming, her parents, and brother Don Stimmel. She is survived by her sons, Clif Allbrandt (Lynn Crocker), and Ben Allbrandt (Jill Hoffman Allbrandt); daughter, Alison Day (Pat Clements); granddaughters Melissa Allbrandt and Sarah Allbrandt; and her sister, Peggy Stimmel Hutchinson.

A public memorial service will be held on January 22, 2022, at 2:00 pm at the Lincoln Center, Canyon West Room, 417 W Magnolia St., Fort Collins, CO 80521 The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, you consider making a memorial contribution to: Poudre Landmarks Foundation, 108 N Meldrum St., Fort Collins, CO 80521 poudrelandmarks.org/

For more information about Barbara, see this story on coloradoan.com: coloradoan.com/story/news/2021/11/15/fort-collins-history-writer-barbara-fleming-dead-85/8624531002/