Regis University Board of Trustees Mourns the Passing of Trustee Maureen Barker
Denver banking executive and devoted trustee served Regis University for 17 years
Regis University announces the passing of Maureen Barker, a longtime member of the university’s Board of Trustees and a distinguished Denver banking executive, who died Friday evening, May 15, 2026. She was 69 years old.
Barker joined the Regis University Board of Trustees in 2009 and served with distinction for 17 years, bringing to the board a rare combination of financial expertise, strategic acuity and personal warmth that left a lasting mark on the institution and those who served alongside her.
A 1978 graduate of Smith College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art History, Criticism and Conservation, Barker built a distinguished career in the Denver banking market spanning decades of executive leadership. She held senior roles at Wells Fargo and UMB Bank before serving most recently as Executive Vice President of Treasury Management at Citywide Banks. Known by colleagues as a creative and strategic leader who led through collaboration and never lost sight of the people behind the work, she was widely regarded as energetic, resourceful and exceptionally skilled at building relationships.
“Maureen brought something irreplaceable to this board, a mind sharpened by decades of executive leadership and a heart fully committed to the mission of this university,” said Derek Scarth, chair of the Regis University Board of Trustees. “She asked the hard questions with grace. She challenged us to be better, always with charity and purpose. Regis is a stronger institution because of her 17 years of service, and we will feel her absence at every future gathering of this board.”
Beyond her professional career, Barker was a tireless community servant whose civic commitments spanned arts, education and economic development. She served on the boards of the Central City Opera House Association, Escuela de Guadalupe, Leadership Aurora and the Aurora Economic Development Council. A member and past president of Rotary International, she also served with the IPODERACS Children’s Fund and as event chair for the Community College of Aurora Foundation. In 2019, after more than 23 years in executive banking roles, she founded YOU, ME & MO, a catering and private chef company that reflected both her entrepreneurial spirit and her love of the culinary arts.
As a trustee, Barker was known for her careful stewardship and her genuine investment in the Regis community. Colleagues remember her as someone who cared about Regis not as an institution on a balance sheet, but as a living community of students, faculty and staff shaped by the grace and rigor of Ignatian values.
“Maureen had a gift for making everyone around her feel seen and valued, whether it was a fellow trustee, a student or a member of the staff,” said Jacquie Box, vice chair of the Regis University Board of Trustees. “Her generosity of spirit will be deeply missed by all of us who had the privilege of working alongside her.”
“In the Jesuit tradition, we speak often of women and men for others,” said the Rev. Thomas Curran, S.J., Jesuit Superior and member of the Regis University Board of Trustees. “Maureen Barker lived those words. She gave her time, her talent and her wisdom to this institution without pretension or fanfare, simply and faithfully, year after year. We commend her to the God she served so well through her gifts to others, and we hold her family in our prayers.”
Barker is survived by her husband, John; son John Kelly Barker; daughter Bridget Barker Orozco, a Regis University alumna, and son-in-law Cory Orozco; granddaughters Olivia and Peyton; and siblings Johanna Kelly, Alinka Flaminia and John Kelly.
A funeral Mass for Maureen will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 29, 2026, at Good Shepherd Catholic Church (2626 E. 7th Ave. Pkwy, Denver 80206), followed by the Rite of Committal at noon at Fairmount Cemetery (430 S. Quebec St., Denver 80247). A reception in Maureen’s honor will be held that same day at 1 p.m. at Denver Botanic Gardens (1007 York St., Denver 80206).
