Barbara Brown Austin

Barbara B. Austin, 95, of Old Long Island Road, Moultonborough, NH, passed away peacefully on March 4, 2015 at Forestview Manor in Meredith. Barbara was born in Lynn, Massachusetts on May 24, 1919, the daughter of Harry Edward and May Isabel (Hollis) Brown. Within a few weeks of her birth she became a summer resident of Moultonborough, the location of her father's family homestead and inn. While growing up in Swampscott, MA and graduating from Swampscott High School, Barbara always considered the family homestead in Moultonborough, where she spent her summers with relatives and friends and later worked at the inn, to be her true home. She began her first year of school in 1925 by attending the little red schoolhouse on Moultonborough Neck before returning to Swampscott. After graduation from Lesley College in 1939, Barbara entered the teaching profession that she loved, at the Haverhill Day Nursery, in Haverhill, MA., helping young children to cope with the absence of their parents during the war. Later she would continue her professional studies at the Chandler Secretarial School in Boston and, upon graduation, became secretary to the Dean of the Tufts Dental School in Boston, Massachusetts. Barbara's introduction to Wilbur Harrison Austin by a mutual friend during a skiing trip led to a happy marriage of sixty-two years. A Girl Scout in her own youth, she volunteered as a cub scout den mother for the local Scout troop that their two sons were in. She was also an active member of the local Child Study Group, which supported childhood education. After living in Massachusetts for the first half of their marriage, Barbara and Wilbur became residents of Moultonborough for the second half, operating her family inn as a Bed and Breakfast with the help of their family. Along with her love of family, she was concerned with the importance of preserving the natural environment and the local history for everyone's benefit. Barbara also enjoyed photography, gardening, genealogy and playing the piano. Barbara was predeceased by her husband, Wilbur, who died in August of 2011. She is survived by her two sons, Hollis B. Austin, of Moultonborough, NH and Thomas A. Austin and his wife, Lisa, of Berwick, ME and Moultonborough, NH and by her grandson Jonathan A. Austin, of Berwick, ME and Moultonborough, NH. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Barbara's memory to the Lakes Region Food Pantry, 977 Whittier HWY, Moultonborough, NH. 03254

Tributes

Barbara Brown Austin

May 24, 1919 - March 4, 2015