BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – Barbara Lois (nee Seavey) O’Brien, age 87, passed away peacefully in the afternoon of Sept. 27, 2022, after a period of declining health. Barbara was born on Jan. 26, 1935, the first of five children, to Doris (Kiniry) Seavey and Donald Seavey in North Walpole, N.H. She graduated from Bellows Falls High School in Bellows Falls, Vt. in 1953.
Barbara had a natural gift for serving others. She served 30 years as an Emergency Room nurse at the Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Bellows Falls, until its closure in 1990. She will be remembered for the difference she made in the lives around her. She served her patients with dignity, respect, and compassion. She also shared her wisdom and experience by mentoring junior nurses and leading the hospital’s Candy Striper program for many years.
After retiring from her nursing career, she remained active through her many volunteer endeavors. She knitted hundreds of caps for newborn patients in the intensive care nursery at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and served meals for the Fall Mountain Meals on Wheels program, to include monthly community dinners in the basement of St. Peter’s Church. She served the Village of North Walpole and its residents as Commissioner of the North Walpole Village District. During her tenure, she organized many village management projects including federal grants to improve residents’ water quality and public safety.
She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Harold, who she married Jan. 30, 1960; three infant children; her daughter, Colleen Elizabeth (nee O’Brien) Simonds; her brother, Donald Jr. (Butch); and her sister, Sandy. She will be dearly missed by many friends and relatives, including her sister, Claire and her family; her brother, Larry and his wife, Jennifer; her stepson Jimmy and his family; her nieces, Maggie and Nancey, and their families; and family friends Gary Simonds and Dave Barry and his wife, Linda, among many others.
In keeping with her wishes, a private graveside service will be held at St. Peter’s Cemetery, Walpole, N.H. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Fall Mountain Food Shelf or Dialysis Research in New Hampshire.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of the Fenton and Hennessey Funeral Home 55 Westminster St in Bellows Falls, Vt. www.fentonandhennessey.com.