Obituary of Barbara Barnes

Barbara Lamkin Barnes, 75, wife of David W. Robinson of Glastonbury, died January 6, 2012. She was born in Hartford to the late Willis and Virginia Lamkin. A graduate of Wethersfield High, she earned her AB at Oberlin College where she first met her husband. They married in 1991 after reconnecting in 1989 at a class reunion. She earned her MA at Ohio State. For many years she taught English at Glastonbury High School. After retirement, she taught English as a second language to new arrivals in America. It was her joy to attend the citizenship ceremony for many of them. She served as organist and choir director at Wapping Community Church and was a piano accompanist for the Glastonbury Chorus and other choral groups. She was an active member of the Congregational Church of South Glastonbury, where she sang in the choir and chaired the music committee and the Board of Deacons. She and her husband enjoyed cycling. They rode their bikes 180 miles along the Potomac from Cumberland, MD, to Washington, DC. They loved traveling by car also, making the drive to the West Coast four times, always stopping to explore national parks and interesting historical sites. She was quite short, a full foot shorter than both of her husbands. She had naturally crooked teeth and naturally straight hair. When she bowled, the ball sometimes hit the head pin and sometimes hit the gutter. She never enjoyed cooking, but didn't mind eating what others placed before her—except for chocolate, liver, and oysters. A day without a puzzle or an hour at the piano was like a day without sunshine. She tried to keep her weight down, until her oncologist said she should keep it up. Besides her husband, she leaves two children from her marriage to the late LeRoy W. Barnes: Ann Brookes of Westbrook and New York, NY and David Barnes of Brentwood, CA, as well as his wife Amy and two young daughters, Mikaila Rose and Payton Alexandra. She also leaves her step-children, Daniel Robinson of Roanoke, VA, and Gretchen Rogers and husband Michael and their son Nathaniel, all of Kirkland, WA. She leaves her sister and husband, Elizabeth and Fred Webster of East Granby, and numerous cousins. A memorial service celebrating her life will be at the Congregational Church of South Glastonbury, on the corner of Main and High Street, on Saturday, January 14, 2012, at 10:30 AM. Burial will be private. A reception will follow in the Social Hall of the church. In lieu of flowers, gifts in her memory may be made to the church, P.O. Box 187, South Glastonbury, CT 06073.