Barbara Elaine (Brothers) Healy, formerly of Millis and Walpole, passed away peacefully into eternal rest on August 5, 2021. She battled Alzheimer’s disease for years with bravery, dignity, and a strong dose of humor. Barbara was the daughter of the late Stephen and Louise (Ridolfi) Brothers. She grew up in Franklin, MA and was a proud graduate of Franklin High School and the Catherine Gibbs school. She went on to build a career which included being an Executive Assistant at the John Hancock Insurance Companies, the Millis Middle School Lunch Lady and an Office Manager at Herman Shoe and multiple Insurance Adjuster’s offices.
Barbara’s greatest joy in life, the thing that mattered most to her was family. She had a huge immediate and extended family and it was often hard to tell her siblings from her cousins because there were so many of them and they were all incredibly close; they still are to this day. Barbara and her husband Tom raised their family in a similar manner with Sunday dinners and summer cookouts with their combined extended families and even making raking leaves a family event. Their house on Clewes Rd. had an open door to anyone their family called “friend”; Barbara made their home warm and welcoming and always had a refrigerator full of just the right food for any occasion.
Later in life, Barbara enjoyed reconnecting with friends to volunteer at the Food Pantry or enjoy one another’s company over a cup of coffee. Her love of books never waned and she could often be found sitting on the pool deck in Walpole with a book on her lap and smile on her face. Her favorite role in her later years was that of Gram. She was so proud of all her grandchildren and her absolute favorite pastime was doing whatever involved those kids.
Barbara was predeceased by her beloved husband, Thomas J Healy, as well as her brother Robert Brothers and her sisters, Evelyn Orswell and Louise “Dodo” Fitzmorris. She leaves her children, Marie Nagode and her husband, Stuart of Dover, Kenneth and his wife Helena of Delray Beach, FL, Peter and his wife Cecile of Thornton, NH and Tammy Ford and her husband Sean of Walpole. Barbara leaves her darling grandchildren Sara Joyce of Franklin, Seamus and Brigid Ford of Walpole and Zachary, Jacqueline and Owen Nagode of Dover. She leaves her siblings Stephen and his partner Susan of Mount Dora, FL, Donald and his wife Laurie of Eustis, FL and Joyce and her husband Gerald of Medway. Additionally, Barbara leaves a myriad of nieces, nephews and cousins, friends and neighbors, as well as her GrandDog and pal, Annie Mae.
Visiting hours will be held Sunday, August 5, 2021 at Roberts Mitchell Caruso Funeral Home in Medfield, MA from 10am-12noon with a service immediately following.
In lieu of flowers, the family request that you make a donation to the one of the following charities in Barbara’s name: the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, the American Humane Society or the Millis Ecumenical Food Pantry.