What You Have, You Share: The Legacy of Barbara (Losey) Pelett

We are deeply honored to share the story of Barbara (Losey) Pelett, a devoted member of Girl Scouts of Western Washington who generously included us in her will. Barbara’s sister, Merridy, has beautifully captured what Girl Scouting meant to Barbara and how it shaped her remarkable life:

Barbara (Losey) Pelett was born into a family that didn’t have things easy. They were poor, mother was infirm, and daddy was called away to war. Barbara felt as though she had to be the strength of the family, which eventually included a maddingly cheerful little sister.

While things may have been rough at home, Barbara became a trail blazer. Yes, that was her troop title, and it was her personal strength. She was the first in our family to join scouts. She was first in our extended family to become a national honor student and to go to university, the first to become a “professional” in her life’s work.

In the workaday world, Barbara continued to help others. She was a social worker for children’s services. She was an investigator for the state of Oregon. She learned to hang glide. She taught belly dancing. She became a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteer for children. She adopted dogs that were the most needy. She laughed and danced and sang (badly) and forged her way to a life that served others and enriched herself in the bargain. In an early writing for her troop, she said this of herself: “I give off enthusiasm when helping others. It doesn’t matter much whether it’s teaching lashing or leading discussions, I love it.”

She was a scout her whole life, even when she didn’t wear the green uniform any longer. She became a pathfinder for others. She taught us that, “what you have, you share,” including ideas, stories, experience, knowledge, money, comfort. As she did in that mountain cabin, so she did in the wide world: “There was not enough room in the shelter for all of us, so the five of us with the warmest sleeping bags slept outside.”

Hence she leaves this bequest to the Girl Scouts of Western Washington and would encourage others to do the same. She said, “The inner feeling I have about scouting: It’s my guiding light."

Are you interested in joining Barbara in leaving a legacy that uplifts future generations of Girl Scouts? Join the Juliette Gordon Low Society by making Girl Scouts of Western Washington part of your estate plans. Your legacy contribution ensures that girls* in our community have access to life-changing programs and camp experiences for generations to come.

*Girl Scouts of Western Washington uses the term girls inclusively to speak to everyone who identifies with the Girl Scout experience, which includes cisgender girls, gender-expansive youth, transgender youth, non-binary youth, gender nonconforming youth, genderqueer youth, and any girl-identifying human.