Last week, San Marco lost a dear friend and longtime resident, Barbara Puckett. The San Marco Preservation Society was in the process of establishing the first ever lifetime achievement award in honor of all of Barbara’s contributions to our amazing neighborhood. The lifetime achievement award was presented in memoriam to Barbara Puckett with her family accepting the award on her behalf.

The San Marco Preservation Society Lifetime Achievement Award read as follows:
Barbara Denmark Puckett was the heart of this community for the majority of her life.  She is truly a “native”, growing up on West Cove Lane and later returning in the 1970’s to raise her family at the corner of West Cove and River Oaks.

Our neighborhood flourished under the nurturing leadership of our own “Steel Magnolia”.  Barbara’s involvement in San Marco Preservation Society spans more than three decades. She was San Marco Preservation Society Membership Chair from 1986 until 1990.  She grew this organization from double digits to over 400 strong in a few short years.  She cleverly divided the neighborhood into color-coded zones with block captains and memorable zone parties.  Very few people could say “no” to Barbara!  She proudly publicized the beauty of the neighborhood as Beautification Chair and connected our neighborhood with the San Marco business community as Merchant Liaison.  Even after the honor of Director Emeritus was bestowed on Barbara in 1995, she relentlessly researched neighborhood history as the SMPS Historian.  Certainly, it was not uncommon to find Barbara digging around the city archives in the old library and later delving into online resources investigating old public records and photos.

Barbara Puckett will be remembered as a catalyst to the success of this incredible neighborhood.  All of us are daily beneficiaries of her dedication, her tenaciousness, her sense of beauty and her sincere love of San Marco.  Indeed, Barbara served all of us, mentored many of us and will remain forever in our hearts and we, in her debt.