Alta Roberta Barwick

Alta Peoples Barwick, 77, Carter County, passed away on Tuesday, February 7, 2023 at the Johnson City Medical Center following a brief illness.

Alta was born on September 17, 1945, in Johnson City and grew up in neighboring Carter County, where she had lived for the last 30 years. She was the daughter of the late John Robert Peoples and Juanita Wills Peoples, both of the Central Community.

From third grade to her graduation from high school, she attended the University School at East Tennessee State University. In 1967 she completed her bachelor’s degree in sociology, psychology, and social welfare from ETSU followed by a Master’s of Social Work from the University of Tennessee.

Early in her career, Alta served as a truant officer in the Johnson City school system. In the following years she worked at the Child Development Center in Memphis, TN and as a neonatal intensive care social worker at the Medical Center in Columbus, GA. Much of her life was dedicated to volunteer work in the communities where her husband’s military career took her and to raising her daughters and building a home for her family. 

She held a variety of offices in the Officers’ Wives Club at William Beaumont Army Medical Center, in El Paso, TX and was an active volunteer at Fort Benning, GA. She served on the board of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, organized a support group for families during Operation Desert Storm and was a recent past-president and board member of the Elizabethton, TN Friends of the Library. Alta enjoyed gardening, was an avid reader, and had a special place in her heart for the stray cats and dogs that she cared for over the years.

She is survived by: Dr. Mike Barwick; daughters, Susan and Elizabeth; grandchildren, Emily and Cameron; and great-grandson, David.

A memorial service will be held for Alta at 3:00 PM on Tuesday, February 14, 2023, at Morris-Baker Funeral Home. The Oak Hall will open for attendees to gather at 2:30 PM. The family requests that those attending bring their best memory of Alta, to participate in sharing brief recollections of her life during the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to the Washington County Animal Shelter.