TITLE: Raymond Barba, Obituary, May 26, 2001 SUMITTERS: COLEBROOK NEWS & SENTINEL "Independent but not Neutral" 1 Bridge Street, P.O. Box 39, Colebrook, NH 03576 (603) 237-5501 FORMATTED: by CParziale, June 2001 **************************************************************************** RAYMOND BARBA Mr. Raymond Barba of Mirror Lake died at Huggins Hospital in Wolfeboro just before midnight on Saturday, May 26, 2001 after an extended stay in the hospital. He was 89 years old. He was born in Melrose, Mass., the youngest child of immigrant parents from Gaeta, Italy, Rachel and Erasmo Barba. The family moved to and were lifetime residents of Needham Heights, Mass. As a boy Ray attended local schools and worked in his family's fresh produce store. He had fond recollections of often accompanying his father on their horse-drawn wagon into the Boston markets for the fruits and vegetables that were needed for their store. Ray played the violin for midnight mass services in St. Joseph's Church. He loved sports, and played basketball and baseball throughout his youth and later played in bowling leagues in Needham and Wolfeboro. He volunteered for many years as an umpire, coach, and manager Needham Little League. Ray attended public schools through the tenth grade and then entered the Boston Trade School, from which he was graduated in 1930. He was a skilled craftsman. For more than forty years Ray worked for the Tillotson Rubber Co. in Needham and later in Everett, Mass. He was the longtime managing superintendent of the manufacturing plant. There he worked with and met his first wife, Lottie May Bleakney, of fourteen years. After her early death, he married another longtime Tillotson employee, Phyllis E. Nichols. They were married for thirty-three years until her death. Ray was a member of the Needham Exchange Club for many years, and was awarded honorary lifetime membership. After retiring in 1979, he moved to New Hampshire. He served as a volunteer in the coffee shop and gift shop at Huggins Hospital in Wolfeboro. In 1998 he was named volunteer of the year. Ray was a fun-loving and warm-hearted person. He made friends easily, and late in his life was constantly gratified by his many friendships as far back as eighty years, and as recently as the last few months. He will be missed by friends and family members. He has many nieces and nephews, grand- and great-nieces and nephews, and was well-loved by all as "Uncle Ray." He is survived by his sister, Rachel, who is 95. He has two children, Stephen Barba of Dixville Notch and Marilyn Barba of Mirror Lake. His two grandchildren, Douglas and Laura, were bright lights in his life who always made him smile. Visiting hours will be held at the Eaton Funeral Home at 1351 Highland Avenue in Needham, Mass. on Wednesday, May 30 from 3-8 p.m. A mass celebrating Ray's life will be held on Thursday at St. Joseph's Church in Needham at 10 a.m. with burial at the Needham Cemetery. Former co-workers, friends and family are cordially invited to attend and to pay their last respects to Raymond Barba. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Raymond Barba Memorial Fund, c/o Visiting Nurse Association-Hospice of Southern Carroll County and Vicinity, Inc., P.O. 1620, Wolfeboro, NH 03894. (Issue of May 30, 2001) **************************************************************************** * * * * Notice: Printing the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. * * * * The USGenWeb Project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. It is always best to consult the original material for verification.