Barbara C. Bear
May 8, 1921 – October 28, 2015
Barbara C. Bear, 94, of Sun City Center, Fla., died peacefully on October 28, 2015. She was born on May 8, 1921, in Woodstock, Maine, daughter of Pearl Foster and Clarence Cole. An accomplished pianist, active also in 4H and glee club, she attended Woodstock High School and in 1943 graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Maine Orono.
That year she married teacher and coach, Edward Bear of Presque Isle, Maine, who was serving in the Navy out of Norfolk, Va. During and after the war she worked at the East Boston Settlement House and the New York Public Library. They later moved to East Hampton, N.Y., then Middle Haddam, Conn. Every summer for 15 years, they operated Bearmac Day Camp in East Hampton, and for several summers they were trip directors at Camp Kineowatha in Wilton, Maine.
In 1954 she obtained a teacher’s degree from Central Connecticut State College in New Britain, and taught first grade for 23 years, first in Marlborough and later Fairfield, Conn. In 1959 she obtained an MA from Fairfield University.
After retiring, she and Ed moved to Sun City Center, where she was active in the Emergency Squad, tennis, bridge, dominoes and entertaining. Nearly half of every year they travelled in their motorhome the length and breadth of North America for square dancing, round dancing, motorhome rallies, elder hostels, and to visit family and friends. They went to Maine each winter to ski, and also travelled to Europe and China.
She was predeceased by her husband Ed, her parents Pearl and Clarence Cole, and her brothers Paul and Gardner. She is survived by daughters Andrea (Darryl) Nicholas of Nekotkok, New Brunswick, Canada, and Melita Campbell of Tampa; five grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
A memorial service was held at Mansion Memorial Park, Ellenton, Fla., on Saturday, November 7, 2015.
That year she married teacher and coach, Edward Bear of Presque Isle, Maine, who was serving in the Navy out of Norfolk, Va. During and after the war she worked at the East Boston Settlement House and the New York Public Library. They later moved to East Hampton, N.Y., then Middle Haddam, Conn. Every summer for 15 years, they operated Bearmac Day Camp in East Hampton, and for several summers they were trip directors at Camp Kineowatha in Wilton, Maine.
In 1954 she obtained a teacher’s degree from Central Connecticut State College in New Britain, and taught first grade for 23 years, first in Marlborough and later Fairfield, Conn. In 1959 she obtained an MA from Fairfield University.
After retiring, she and Ed moved to Sun City Center, where she was active in the Emergency Squad, tennis, bridge, dominoes and entertaining. Nearly half of every year they travelled in their motorhome the length and breadth of North America for square dancing, round dancing, motorhome rallies, elder hostels, and to visit family and friends. They went to Maine each winter to ski, and also travelled to Europe and China.
She was predeceased by her husband Ed, her parents Pearl and Clarence Cole, and her brothers Paul and Gardner. She is survived by daughters Andrea (Darryl) Nicholas of Nekotkok, New Brunswick, Canada, and Melita Campbell of Tampa; five grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
A memorial service was held at Mansion Memorial Park, Ellenton, Fla., on Saturday, November 7, 2015.