Obituaries: Singer; Barelle; Brown; Highland

Aria Renae Singer: 2022 – 2025

Aria Renae Singer, often referred to as “Raria,” was born on November 1, 2022. She passed away on March 1, 2025, due to rare medical complication caused by Influenza-A, affecting the brain. Aria was a happy and healthy toddler, but in the short time span of only 24 hours, she began to have serious flu symptoms. She was life-flighted to the Children’s Hospital in Aurora, Colorado, where she succumbed to the illness.

Aria was born to Jeffery Singer and Rachael Singer (Blair) in Gillette, Wyoming. She had a very short life of only two years and four months in this world. She brought light to so many lives, especially to her parents. She was always happy and full of life. Aria had a smile that could light up any room and a laugh that would melt your heart. She was wild and adventurous like her dad and compassionate, loving, and caring like her mother. She had recently become a big sister to precious Eloise. Even with the jealousy of losing attention from her parents, Aria looked over Eloise and protected her new sister. If Aria wasn’t cuddling Eloise or loving on her parents, she was chasing Balto around the house whom she nicknamed “BoBo.”

The first color Aria learned was yellow and she absolutely loved it. Her first words were “I got it.” Nightly, Aria and her father would run around the house. He would catch her saying, “I got you!” She would respond, yelling “I got you” back. She enjoyed Babyshark, but after the discovery of dinosaurs, everything else came second. Her favorite movie was The Good Dinosaur and she loved watching Dino Ranch. Aria loved to look at the stars and the moon as often as she was able. Her Grandpa Clay bought her a star machine that allowed her to sleep under the stars every night.  Aria was sunshine and happiness bottled up in a beautiful little baby girl. She only knew happiness and love. She had many friends at the Teddy Bear Daycare. All the staff loved Aria and treated her as if she was their own. Many of our friends “adopted” her as their grandchild or niece. They loved Aria with all their hearts.

She is survived by her father, Jeffery Singer; mother, Rachael Singer (Blair); and baby sister, Eloise; godparents, Andrew “Drew” Druckenmiller and Kelsie Dellos; aunts and uncles: David Singer, Amanda Singer, Dan Singer, Joseph Blair, Carley Blair, Andrew Blair, and Ashley Blair; cousins: Luke Singer, Jesse Singer, Casey Singer, Marissa Singer, Dylan Singer, Shalynn Griffus, Madelynn Griffus, Kayden Perrow, Landon Blair, Ellox Blair, and Pryor Blair; grandparents: Clayton “Clay” Blair, Pamela Shultz, and John Singer; great-grandparents: Thomas Blair, Darby Blair, Carol Shultz, Clifford Shultz, and Ken Peterson.

She is preceded in death by her grandmother, Cynthia “Cindy” Singer; as well as many great-grandparents, and other relatives that will give her as much love in death as she had in life.

Services to celebrate the life of Aria will be held Saturday, March 15 at 3 p.m. at the LDS church at 1500 Ohara Dr. Gillette, Wyoming. Food will be graciously provided following the memorial service. Aria’s remains will be cremated to allow her to be placed with her parents, wherever that final resting place may be. Instead of the traditional black and gray, we request people to wear colorful clothing to celebrate Aria’s life.

For those that wish to donate to the medical and funeral expenses that have arisen due to this tragedy, there will be a donation box at the service, Venmo: @Jeffery-Singer, or a mailing address of 1701 Ash Meadows Dr. Gillette Wy, 82716.

We would like to give a very heartfelt and deep thank you to our family and friends for the love and support through this incredibly challenging time. We would also like to thank members of the LDS church for being so kind and helpful with preparing the services and treating us like family and The Children’s Hospital of Colorado Anschutz for treating our daughter and ourselves with such compassion and care.

Brenda Kay Barelle: 1958 – 2025

Brenda Barelle, age 66, passed away February 16, after a short but intense battle with cancer and a lifelong battle with lupus. 

Loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, daughter, and fierce advocate for those she loved. She was a protector, a guide, and mentor. She fiercely loved her grandbabies as well as her children and carried it as her personal duty to be their voice and strength when they couldn’t find their own.

Brenda married her first husband, Ron, in 1976 and shared six children with him, prior to their divorce in 2006. She married her second and current husband, John, in her favorite city with her son Rory as her best man in 2013.

She had several brothers and sisters. She loved to karaoke, listen to music, and play different instruments with them. She had no fear of the microphone or an audience and could create a locomotion train with any crowd. She taught her grandkids funny songs as well as goofy dance moves and loved to take them to QT for little mini trips, pick out the loudest toy, and give the kids candy or ice cream before handing her grandkids back over to her children.

Her kids loved getting together in her backyard for grilling. Thanksgiving was always with mom and she would go OVER THE TOP with food. One year each person in attendance had their own cake. She had a going away party for her nephew and she made him his special oatmeal no bake cookies as well as made wedding dresses for different family members. She was looking forward to making flowers for her granddaughters wedding as well as doing the alterations for their dresses. She wasn’t a woman of wealthy means or an endless bank account. Her currency she gave was in her gifts of love. There isn’t a family member who she hasn’t shown how to sew, made food for, quilted a blanket for, or some other type of gift of love.

Instead of worrying about herself, she spent her last days trying to make it to Arizona to her daughter to help her fight her illness. She was already getting packed to move across state lines when she learned she was sick, herself. It didn’t stop her from trying to make it to Arizona to her. Her love for her family was the thread that stitched their lives together.

She was so smart. Outside of her family, she had a passion for the medical field. She was a lifelong learner who completed her masters degree in 2017 and was pursuing her doctorate in psychology. Her passion was helping people and being a support for people. She worked hard and was often given awards and accolades at her place of employment that made her so proud.

She was attached to her dogs and often had almost as many dogs as she did children. You could not take her around any pet adoption day or she’d end up with another dog. She would talk her husband into getting more dogs by getting a dog for her grandkids. The same care she showed for people she showed to animals and always looked at it as her job to help them.

She sometimes was misunderstood because of her fierce loyalty and conviction in advocating for what’s right. She was strong and did not back down which helped her in battling her last days of cancer.

She was very spiritual and loved her God Jehovah. Her faith was strong and she was comforted by her everlasting hope.

Above all, she was love.

She was a true matriarch, and her family will forever be grateful for the love, wisdom, and guidance she shared with them. Though she may be gone, her legacy of love will live on through the hearts and memories of those whom loved her.

Brenda leaves behind her husband, John; her six children; and her 15 grandchildren; as well as her many siblings, nieces, nephews, and friends she counted as family.

She is preceded in death by both her parents; her grandparents; and her little brother.

Sarah Shaylee Brown: 1993 – 2025

Sarah Brown passed away on March 2, 2025.

She was raised in Casper, Wyoming but was living in Odessa, Texas at the time of her passing.

She is survived by her three children: Terrance, Emilee, and Jacob; her mother, Cindy Rone Brown; aunt, Connie (Roland); Alvin (Diana); and many cousins.

She is preceded in death by her aunt, Sheila; and grandfather, Alvin Rone Sr.

Services will take place at a later time.

Delores Ann Highland: 1936 – 2025

Delores was born on August 29, 1936, in Syracuse, New York to Glenn and Vera Jewell.

She went on to heaven on February 25, 2025.

In August of 1988, she married the love of her life, Harry Highland; they were married for 32 years. He preceded her in death in 2020. She then moved to Texas to be near her children.

She is survived by five children and two step-children; numerous grandchildren great-grandchildren; and even great-great-grandchildren.

Her family would like to thank the staff of Visiting Angels of Longview, Texas and AccentCare Hospice of Longview for caring for her so well, as well as Newcomer Funeral Home for their guidance and care.