Barbara P. Hargrove

Barbara Paula Hargrove, 72, wife of Theodore L. Hargrove, of Sanford died January 14 at Southern Maine Medical Center. Although she had been on the national list for a liver transplant for 10 years, she had lived an active and abundant life until a fall in her home, December 7.She was born January 16, 1933 in Worcester, MA, the only child of Paul C. and Viola Johnson O'Brien. Her early years were spent in Yonkers and Jackson Heights, NY, where her father worked as a CPA. During his lengthy illness in 1947, the family moved back to the Johnson homestead in Worcester. There she attended Heard Street and Freeland Street Schools and was a member of the class of '51 at South High School. She was a member of Hadwen Park Congregational Church.She was married in 1951 to her high school sweetheart, and together they reared six children. The family lived in Amherst, MA before moving to Fort Knox, KY, where her husband served as an army officer. They were also stationed at Camp Perry, Ohio.After leaving the army in 1956, the family lived in Oxford and Auburn, MA. In 1961 they moved to New London, CT, where they lived until retiring to Maine in 1998.As a teenager, Barbara was a fashion model for Worcester department stores, including Denholm & McKay, "the Boston Store", and appeared in shows at the former Bancroft Hotel. She later became a roving hostess for the Nissen Baking Co., promoting its products in stores throughout Worcester County.After the youngest of her children was in school, she joined the administrative staff at Mitchell College in New London as assistant to her husband, who was director of public relations and development. In that post she became the college's unofficial hostess, staging parties and receptions and helping to coordinate and implement the fund-raising campaigns and special projects of the Alumni, Parents and Friends Associations. She also graced the social activities of the Kiwanis Club and Junior Achievement, among other organizations which her husband served. She also appeared in fashion shows sponsored by non-profit groups.Among other unofficial roles at Mitchell was her evolution as a surrogate mother to a generation of college students who worked as aids in the department or who studied in classes taught by her husband. A special prize, "The Barbara Hargrove Service Award" given annually to an outstanding Mitchell student, was created in her honor upon her retirement in 1995.Throughout her lifetime her abiding joy came in the celebration of Christmas, and her homes were brightened by Christmas decorations the entire year. Her daily activities throughout the year included shopping for gifts for family and friends-even those she had just met, or strangers who had rendered her a kindness.She took great joy in decorating her homes in keeping with whatever season, from appropriate placemats and mantel adornments to yard ornaments. The family's summer home on Swan Pond in Lyman bore nautical decor; the Sanford home was formal and the cabin in Stonington, CT was rustic, but all bore her signature of uniqueness and good taste.Complementing the college social scene, and often dovetailing with it, was her vigorous entertaining schedule, in her home and aboard the family's antique wooden boat, the "Splendid Splinter"-all accomplished with an unostentatious but characteristically unique flair.Her love of people and all things great and small was reciprocated by a wealth of friends and a succession of family pets, and strays, who were attracted by her gentle kindness and generosity. Her life was devoted to doing thoughtful things for everyone entering her sphere, with a little extra for her beloved grandchildren.Though consumed by hard work and responsibility, she was a romantic inhabiting an ideal world, searching always, if only in her fantasies, for that perfect land where everybody was kind to one another and where every day was Christmas.In addition to her husband, she leaves her children, Mary Jane Poirier of Worcester, Charles H. of Holiday, FL, Tracy J. Hargrove of Stonington Borough CT, Christian P. and his wife, Christina, of South Hamilton, MA, Jonathan L. and his wife, Kathleen, of Scituate, MA and Samantha J. Hargrove of Brooklyn, NY; also 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, and a void to be filled now by the spirit of a beautiful human being who made a difference throughout a life well livedThere will be no calling hours. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, January 21, 2006 at North Parish Congregational Church, located at 893 Main Street in Sanford, ME with the Rev. Donald Smith officiating. Private burial will be held at the Massachusetts National Cemetery located in Bourne, Massachusetts at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to the Barbara Hargrove Service Award, Mitchell College, New London, CT 06320, or to The Animal Welfare Society, P.O. Box 43, West Kennebunk, ME 04094. Arrangements are through Carll-Heald & Black Funeral Home, located at 580 Main Street in Springvale, ME. To send a note of condolence please go to the "condolence" tab on the left.