Federal Way senior couple has lived full lives

Published 2:33 pm Monday, January 25, 2016

Harriet, 86, and John Barberi, 87, are relatively new citizens to Federal Way, having only moved to the area 3 1/2 years ago.

Prior to moving to Federal way, the couple lived in Bellingham, the same city where they met each other. They moved south to be closer to John Barberi’s son in Seattle and Harriet Barberi’s daughter in Auburn.

“It was a long way to go to Bellingham to visit,” Harriet Barberi said. “They encouraged us to move here.”

It was John Barberi’s son who introduced the two originally. Harriet Barberi said that he talked John Barberi up and he lived up to everything his son said. They would eventually end up getting married in Las Vegas.

Harriet Barberi is a retired nurse. She began her career in the early 1950s after graduating from nursing school.

“I wanted to find a career where I could support myself if something ever happened in a marriage,” Harriet Barberi said. “If I got a divorce or my husband passed away, it was something I could do to take care of myself and my children.”

She knew that just by finishing nursing school, she had accomplished a major feat in her life.

John Barberi is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served for 23 years, reaching the rank of Major.

After retiring from the Marines, he got the itch to get out onto the open water again and joined the Merchant Marines. He served nearly 10 years.

The two lived in California for more than 30 years. During this time, Harriet Barberi worked as a nurse at Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk, California. She retired from that hospital in 1989, but continued with nursing for a few more years.

One of Harriet Barberi’s favorite stories about John Barberi was that he always used to be mistaken for Sean Connery by others. She never saw the resemblance.

“I think he was very good looking,” Harriet Barberi said. “But I never thought he looked like Sean Connery. But everywhere we went people would say that he looked like him. John had brought his uniform for someone to wear in a play once. As we were leaving the area, there was a little boy who got excited and said ‘oh mom, there’s Sean Connery,’ and he ran over.”

The couple made time for traveling on numerous occasions. They’ve visited over 13 countries in Europe and have gone to some of the northernmost regions of Canada.

One of their favorite destinations was Guatemala, where they have been three times for church related activities.

Harriet Barberi recalls one moment at a church event in Guatemala that has stayed with her to this day.

“We were at a big stadium and it was pouring down rain,” she said. “It was like that for about half an hour. Right as the meeting was about to start, the clouds cleared and the sun shined down in the stadium. It was very moving to everyone that was there.”

In recent years, John Barberi was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. It was suggested that he be placed in an institution, but Harriet Barberi refused.

The two called Comfort Keepers shortly after because they believed having in-home care would help them. They now have a caregiver in their home seven days a week.

Harriet Barberi has praised the work they have done with both her and John Barberi.