Published in The Lake Report, August 27, 2026, page 22.
1936–2026
Our friend Barbara has passed away after a long life very well lived.
Born in Weston, Barbara also lived in Montreal, in Toronto, and since the late 1970s part-time, and then full-time, in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Her beloved architect-designed ivy-strewn cottage in Chautauqua was home for many years followed by a short stint in a charming townhouse on Simcoe and finally a move to Seasons Retirement Residence in downtown St. Catharines.
An arts grad of Victoria College at U of T, then a career woman from the early 1960s onward (Consumers Gas, Province of Ontario, Etobicoke and Brampton Public Libraries, Niagara Institute, York University), Barbara mixed her accomplished professional life with a robust personal life: two marriages, a late-in-life companion, numerous hobbies at which she excelled (golf, dance, painting, drawing, jewellery-making, weaving, origami, sewing, and teddy-bear making, to name a few) and regular volunteering in the town she adored (including at the Pumphouse Arts Centre, the Niagara Museum, Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Palliative Care Services and on the Chautauqua Residents Association).
A generous host, Barbara treated her friends like family. Bryn, Margret, Maureen, Peter, Rand, and Richard — although sad today — happily recall the numerous winery and craft fair visits in the Peninsula, Martin House and Albright Knox tours in Buffalo, road trips in California, Sunday afternoon glasses of wine at home, Christmas dinners in Toronto, Shaw Festival outings and many, many more meaningful times spent in her company.
Appreciative thanks to Tracy, her longtime housekeeper and friend for always keeping things in tidy order, and the staff at Seasons in St. Catharines and at Hotel-Dieu Shaver for taking thoughtful and loving care of Barbara during her challenging recent illness.
Barbara will be laid to rest with her parents in Etobicoke.
