Barbara Masson: Tributes flow for much-loved Ipswich basketball pioneer

The daughter of much-loved Ipswich basketball pioneer Barbara Masson has shared the heartwarming way she and others chose to honour her mum in the wake of her sudden death.

The Ipswich sporting community is in mourning following the tragic and sudden loss of Barbara Masson, a widely-loved founding member of popular basketball club Comets who “loved to laugh” and was “always there” for the people around her.

Barbara died on Monday, June 27, aged 76, just two months after she was diagnosed with stage four cancer.

A local icon, the mum-of-four was particularly well-known among her fellow “basketball people”. She and her husband Alan were founding members of Comets Basketball Club back in the 1970s after they moved to Ipswich from Nowra.

Barbara’s eldest daughter Caroline Masson said she had fond memories of her mum being in the Comets’ first ladies’ team, while her dad was in the Comets’ first men's team and she was in the Comets’ first children’s team.

“We were just there all the time,” she said.

“It was a great place to grow up. So much fun.”

Caroline said her mum played with the Comets for some time before she started refereeing, eventually becoming “one of the best” in her field.

Barbara Masson sadly passed on Monday, June 27 after a short battle with cancer. Picture: Supplied

Barbara was so good, in fact, that she was once asked to referee a national basketball competition. She turned down the opportunity so she could continue caring for her four girls while her husband Alan was away working.

She stopped refereeing in her mid-40s but was “really involved” in the Ipswich basketball scene until the end and would meet with friends from her basketball days every week for lunch.

“She was just so fun and energetic,” Caroline said.

“Always liked exercise. When she stopped basketball she started doing aerobics, five times a week.

“She was just absolutely beautiful.

“Always there for us, always there for her friends.”

Caroline said she, her mum, and her sisters were all extremely close and together “all the time”.

Barbara and her four girls: Kelly Carter, Katy Rowan, Barbara Masson, Caroline Masson, and Sally-Anne Milham (left to right). Picture: Supplied

Barbara loved to laugh, dance, and socialise and was loved by so many in the Ipswich community. Her funeral — held at Centenary Memorial Gardens on Thursday, July 7 — was attended by more than 100 people and was “absolutely lovely”.

“It was typical of mum,” Caroline said.

“Mum never wanted a sad funeral. She wanted it to be upbeat, rock and roll.”

Those who knew Barbara knew how much she loved wearing a scarf, playing basketball, and her daily coffee from McDonald’s. On the day of her funeral, scarfs were draped over her coffin, along with a basketball, and a McDonald’s coffee cup.

Guests arrived wearing scarfs in her honour.

Barbara leaves behind her four girls, Kelly Carter, Katy Rowan, Caroline Masson, and Sally-Anne Milham, her 12 grandchildren, and one soon-to-be great-grandchild. Her husband Alan sadly died in 2018.