Barbara Louise Dunlevy, of Worthington, passed from this life on January 15th, 2020, just 4 days after her 102nd birthday. She was well-loved in Worthington, where she held the Golden Cane, as the oldest residence of the town. Barbara (Jarvis) Dunlevy was born in Bangor, Maine, on January 11, 1918, the daughter of the late Henry and Leola Jarvis. When she was 7, Barbara spent 3 unforgettable years with her favorite Uncle Ned and Aunt Em, in the small town of Winn, near Lincoln, Maine. After high school, while attending Eastern Maine General Hospital as a Nursing student, she met her future husband Raymond Knowles Dunlevy, when he came in with a leg injury, while using an axe in Forestry Field Camp training at the University of Maine. They fell in love, and eloped on July 21, 1938, so that she could finish her training, and become a Registered Nurse (RN). They moved to Springfield, Mass, where he was an Army Captain at the Springfield Armory during World War II. They moved to Worthington in 1946. In Worthington, Barbara became an active resident Nurse, working at the “Lyceum Hall” Health Center with Florence Bates, and as the School Nurse, at the Russell H. Conwell Elementary School. She also worked at the Pittsfield General Hospital. She was an active member of the Council on Aging (COA), the Garden Club, the Red Hatters, and the Friends of the Worthington library. Barbara was an avid bridge player. She enjoyed doing anything with her husband, from gliding across the dance floor at the Whale Inn in Goshen, or paddling a canoe, to using bows and arrows on walks through the woods. She was also a good skier, including winning a medal for racing with the Over 70’s Club at Jiminy Peak ski area. After Ray passed in 1985, Barbara met a new dance partner, Earl Bousquet from Chester. They really enjoyed lively dancing, and traveling together on COA trips. They would always go to church and have dinner together every Sunday. On her 99th birthday celebration at the COA lunch, Barbara fell and broke her hip. She had since been confined to a wheelchair and lived at Hillcrest Commons in Pittsfield MA; but she remained active, even earning the nickname of “Speedy”, because she could propel herself in her wheelchair so fast.
Barbara leaves her 4 children: daughter Judith (Dunlevy) Whitman and her husband Donald, of Hancock, Mass; her son Daniel Dunlevy and his wife Melissa, of Springville, Utah; her son Paul Dunlevy and his wife Donna (Sears), of Worthington, MA; and her daughter Ruth (Dunlevy) Slater, of Peterborough, NH; as well as 9 grandchildren, 8 great grandchild, and 1 great-great grandchild .
She was pre-deceased by her husband Raymond Knowles Dunlevy, and by her brother Phillip Jarvis, of Bangor, ME. She leaves her younger sister Patricia Peterson, of Yarmouth, ME.
A Catholic Mass was celebrated at St. Joseph Church in Stephentown, New York. A “Celebration of Life” event is planned for May 30, 2020, at the Worthington Rod and Gun Club, from noon-to-3 pm. All her friends and relatives are invited. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Barbara can be made to the Worthington Library, using the Westfield Funeral Home website link to the library, or directly to the library at www.theworthingtonlibrary.org.
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