Barbara Ann Gaskill

Barbara Ann Gaskill

Barbara Ann Gaskill, 80, died Tuesday, October 6, 2009, at her home in Charlottesville, Virginia, surrounded by her family. She had been ill for a brief time.

The youngest of five children, Barbara was born March 28, 1929 in Albion, New York, to the late John Allen and Mabel (Schultz) Bentley. Her early years were spent in Barre Center and Batavia, New York. As a young teen she moved with her family to Stacy Basin and then Verona, New York, graduating from Verona High School in 1947.

She was employed as a secretary for the Verona school system and as a receptionist for a dental practice prior to her marriage to David A. Kallander, a native of Massachusetts, in 1953. They had five children together and lived in New York, Massachusetts, and Arizona, due to job transfers. During that time she was a full time mother and homemaker.

Her first marriage ended in divorce and she returned to her native New York State with her five children aged 1 to 11. They settled in the small farming village of Elba so that she could be near her mother, brothers, and sister. For the next several years she devoted herself to raising her children on a modest income, working as an event coordinator at Batavia Downs Harness Track. Her children recall these years as the most memorable and formative of their lives.



On September 27, 1970, she married Charles D. Gaskill. In 1975, they moved to Milford, New Hampshire, and then in 1977 to Algeria (Africa), due to employment opportunities. While in Algeria, they traveled extensively throughout northern Africa and Europe. On their return to the United States they lived in Glendale Heights, Illinois, where Barbara worked for the American Cancer Society. Mr. and Mrs. Gaskill then moved to College Park, Maryland where Barbara worked with the Department of Social Services as a supervisor of the Maryland Energy Assistance Program. Barbara was highly regarded in her position and established several life long relationships with her colleagues.

In 1994, Barbara retired and moved with her husband to Charlottesville. Although retired, Barbara stayed very active. She was an avid gardener and for a time was a member of the Boxwood Garden Club. She transformed her yard from brambles to a wonderful garden for walking and sitting. She enjoyed walking with neighbors, participating in various fitness activities, and was a member of the Atlantic Coast Athletic Association (ACAC) for several years.

Barbara was an active member of the Maple Grove Christian Church, where she established a exercise group and a Bible study group that grew quite large and is still in existence today. Barbara spent countless hours visiting elderly friends and neighbors, taking them meals and baked goods.

Barbara loved to travel to Alaska, Washington, Maryland, and Massachusetts, to visit her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She also enjoyed spending time with her daughter's family here in Charlottesville. In addition to her many activities, Barbara was a devoted wife and caregiver to her husband who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis 25 years ago.

In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by two brothers, Gerald Bentley and Walter Bentley; and her sister, Freda Gear.

She is survived by her husband, Charles D. Gaskill; her brother, Marvin Bentley and his wife, Florence, of Rochester, New York; her children, James Kallander and his wife, Patricia, of Cordova, Alaska, Thomas Kallander and his wife, Tamara, of Des Moines, Washington, Barry Kallander and his wife, Carol, of Bolton, Massachusetts, Cheryl Grau and her husband, William, of Glenwood, Maryland, and Nancy Kallander and her husband, Tom Smith, of Charlottesville; and step-daughter, Sandy Hession of Springfield, Massachusetts. She is also survived by her beloved grandchildren, Rachel Kallander of Washington, D.C., Emily Kallander of Cordova, Alaska, David Kallander and his wife, Deborah, of Fife, Washington, Janell Kallander of Federal Way, Washington, Caleb Kallander of Des Moines, Washington, 1st Lieutenant United States Air Force, Brendan Kallander of Santa Maria, California, Lindsay Kallander of Boston, Massachusetts, Jason Grau of Burlington, Vermont, Tyler Grau of Glenwood, Maryland, Benjamin Smith, Nathaniel Smith and Carrie Smith, all of Charlottesville; and great-grandchildren, Mathew Kallander, Armani Kallander, Elliott Courtney, Miles Courtney, Tyler Kallander; and a host of very special cousins, nieces and nephews, and their children. She will be remembered and cherished by her family and friends as a loving, thoughtful, and giving wife, mother, grandmother and friend.

A memorial service celebrating Barbara's life will be held 11 a.m. Saturday, November 28, 2009, at Maple Grove Christian Church, with friend and pastor, Roger Browning officiating. A luncheon will follow at the church.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial offerings be sent to Hospice of the Piedmont (www.hopva.org), Maple Grove Christian Church (www.maple-grove.org), 20:20 Visions Ministries (www.2020visionministries.org), or to the charity of your choice.

Friends may sign the guest register at teaguefuneralhome.com.


This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.