Barbara S Roulston

Barbara S. Roulston, 86, died Tuesday, May 7, 2013, following a brief, valiant struggle with ovarian cancer. A Memorial Service will be held in the Maguire Center at Westminster Oaks, Dempsey Mayo Road, Tallahassee, on Friday, May 17, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Westminster Foundation or to Big Bend Hospice. Barbara was born and grew up in Winchester, MA, where she attended local grammar and secondary schools. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA, and was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee. In addition to her husband, Bob, and family, singing and self-less service were her two interchangeable passions, and Barbara cultivated them throughout her life. Appropriate to her life-long passion for choral singing in church and local musical groups, Barbara met future husband Bob while singing in the choir of the Old South Church in Boston, MA, and they married in 1951. Over their nearly 57 years together they raised three sons, each of whom earned his Eagle rank in Scouting, attended an Ivy League school and went on to a successful career in business or the professions. Once the boys were old enough, Barbara returned to school at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, CT, and earned a Masters degree in Education. When the family moved to Andover, MA, she proceeded to turn years of volunteer work with church and youth groups (including countless hours as a cub scout troop leader) into a successful career as an elementary school (5th Grade) math teacher there. Following Bob into retirement in 1985, they moved to Silver Springs Shores near Ocala. There they joined the local Presbyterian Church and continued active involvement in church and volunteer groups when not enjoying weekly day-trips exploring that beautiful Central Florida area. When they moved to Westminster Oaks in 1995, she continued to follow her passion for singing with the choir of First Presbyterian Church and choral groups at WO, and continued her life of service with local volunteer groups and other church activities. Among these other pursuits, she mentored young men from the nearby Middle School in reading and math, and was a committed and active member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and PEO (in which she often served as an officer, in such capacities as Chapter Chaplain, Secretary, Vice President and President). Bob preceded her in death in 2008, as had her parents and, in 1982, her older brother, Elbert Smith of York, PA. She is survived by sons David (and wife Susan) of Cherry Hill, NJ; Robert K., Jr. (and wife Jane) of Amarillo, TX, and John, of Lompoc, CA; five grandchildren, Jordan (and wife Gabrielle), Jessica and David, and Alex and Sarah, and three great-granddaughters, all of whom she was extremely proud. Interment will take place at a later date when she joins Bob and her parents at Wildwood Cemetery in Winchester, MA,.

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Barbara S Roulston

August 16, 1926 - May 7, 2013