A beautiful life began in St. Francisville, Louisiana on October 31, 1940, when Elven Barrow Jr., first child of Elven and Eleanor Barrow was born. Three years later they came to California, to a calling of World War II to work in the shipyards of Sausalito. Elven “Bo” grew up in Marin City and attended Tamalpais High School where he excelled in Track and Field. He did masonry work with his father on projects throughout Marin building fireplaces and walls with bricks and stones.

Elven began working at Marin General Hospital in 1961 where he worked for 42 years. He was Storekeeper for the hospital, in charge of Shipping and Receiving, in materials management. He took great care in making sure the hospital staff always had at hand all the supplies they needed for patients.

While working at the hospital, Elven met co-worker Margarita Alvarez in 1978. They were married in Larkspur in May 1981. They have two daughters, J.J. Ross and Bebe Barrow, whom they raised in Larkspur, Cotati, Santa Rosa, and Fairfax.

Elven had five brothers and one sister: David, Maurice, and Floyd Barrow, who have passed, and Angelease, Leroy, and Norland Barrow. Elven had three sons from an early previous marriage: Dwayne, Anthony, and Darryl Barrow.

Elven was a wonderful cook, always making delicious meals for his family, and his famous spaghetti for friends. When Elven retired from the hospital he spent five years at home with his family and enjoyed gardening. Then he went to work at Whole Foods in Mill Valley for 10 years, until just a year ago, where he was much loved.

Family and friends knew Bo as a warm, sweet, friendly man who was very kind to people. He loved music, and in town in Fairfax was well known. He loved sports, animals, nature, and hiking the trails up to Mt. Tamalpais. He talked a lot about his love for Mt. Tam, having worked on improving the trails when he was young, and recently wanted to take people on hikes up there and back.

Elven passed away peacefully on April 9, 2021 in Greenbrae, after fighting cancer for over a year. Arrangements are being made for a private service in San Rafael.

To share your thoughts and memories of Bo, visit the Thinking of Bo page.

If you would like to reach the immediate family directly, visit the Contact the Family page.