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Barbara M. (Lutted) O'Donnell
Barbara M. (Lutted) O'Donnell
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Barbara O'Donnell Obituary
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Dana Eagles
December 23, 2017
Barbara and Gene lived in the woods behind our family home. I recall hearing the repetitive pinging of Gene's hammer as he went about his work. Barbara always seemed to be in the garden busy with her work. The labs would run up and greet me with slobbering kisses. Barbara would give me science magazines to read. Somehow she influenced me and guided me to a rewarding career in engineering. I am forever grateful.
Dana
Barbara Barrett
September 8, 2017
Barbara was one of the closest friends of my mom, Edith T Benjamin. From earliest school days till the day my mom passed. She was a teacher, friend, mentor that helped me grow into the adult I became. Always guiding so many of us. In a way we were all her kids. Thank you Barbara for being there for all of us.
September 5, 2017
Sincere condolences. Ms O'Donnell surely lived a full life. I pray that the love and support from family and friends see you through this pain and grief.
(Prov. 18:24b) Respectfully, Ali
Kurt Grenning
September 4, 2017
I remember my last visit with Barbara while I was up in Massachusetts while at university. I arrived in her driveway just before she was returning home. Barbara had always been a Ford Escort person. Ford had just transitioned from the Escort to the Focus as a compact car. She complained that the hatch on the Focus opened too high, and she had screwed a strap into the back of the hatch so that she could reach to pull it closed. Someone called me on my cellphone at that moment, and I pulled my phone out simply to deny the call. Barbara responded without hesitation, "So you are responsible for all these ugly phone towers they are putting up all over the landscape." I also remember asking permission to drive our rental car up Barbara's driveway when I was about 11 or 12 years old. I have no idea why I thought that would be a reasonable request. I have so many memories, I can't write them all down.
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Neil Grenning
September 4, 2017
I feel Barbara and Gene's life and home were an extension of their souls. In all my memories there is simply the bosom of surroundings that made me feel special and invited in every way. I can't feel Barbara without the unique beauty of their isolation from noise, bustle and city trappings. Their life feels imprinted in me as a sense of how to be free.
I guess it starts with the driveway, a winding dirt path that, from the street, should be missed by all but those worthy of the secret rabbit hole. The first thing you see is not the house, but the gardens, a reflection of the importance of nature in their lives.
How many people can say they built their own house? And not just any simple structure, but a sturdy abode culled from quarry stones. The heavy wooden door that invites you to listen to the iron knocker squeek and thump into the farthest glass corner that looks onto a stretch of trees where we found many a Christmas tree.
Three of Gene's sculptures are forever linked to the corners of Barbara's home: The man who holds a bolder on a fingertip on the bookcase to the right of the door, a cat jumping over the moon and the other associated nursery rhyme at the far wall, and the large train that sat atop the upright piano beneath the stairs. Loading logs into the furnace surrounded by slate or whatever that gray, flat rock is. Sitting around the table by the French windows. I'd sit on the ledge and look out onto the snow.
I see Barbara moving about the kitchen, various jellies and goodness crowding her counters. In the corner behind the cellar staircase is a radio and CD player, about the only nod to the modern she seemed to enjoy. Into he cellar, lining the shelves on each side, many spices and staples. She had a dog, a black lab, I think, that seemed to lend a certain smell to the whole house.
I can still hear her answer the door, the long "Helloooo!" I sense her like the soft presence of reason in a fundamentally divergent world made busy by unappreciation
Jeff Eagles Lifelong student
September 3, 2017
Barbara was a marvelous person and teacher to many. She inspired me. Barbara and Gene opened up new worlds for me. The many fond memories live on.
Cheryl Grenning
September 1, 2017
A lifetime of special and heartfelt memories: 6th grade classroom at the Jones School in 1954, Packard Manse, raspberry bushes and rhubarb, dinners from a plentiful garden, Gene telling stories of the Great Depression in front of the Jtul wood stove, maple walnut scones, cross-country skiing, cutting down Christmas trees in the snow, fall drive down the east side of Narragansett Bay, godson to my son Hans, watching bird feeders in winter, the magic of wild turkey on the lawn, nursery rhymes in sculpture, a treasure of Christmas decorations, coffee on a deck surrounded by holly bushes, sister Helen, an inspiration for all that is good and important in life. I will deeply miss you. Cheryl
Patricia Stanton
August 30, 2017
Barbara (Mrs. O'Donnell) was my sixth grade teacher. She was such a dedicated teacher and suburb role model. In 2015 the SHS class of 1960 had their 55th reunion. After the reunion we made a visit to Barbara and had a memorable time. That is something we will never forget. They must need teachers in heaven. You show them how, Barbara.
Pat Stanton, Stoughton, Ma former student
Pat Basler
August 30, 2017
Barbara was also a wonderful volunteer tutor for the Adult Literacy Program at the Stoughton Public Library, and improved the life of many students of all ages. Our condolences from the staff of the SPL.
Ruthie Fitzpatrick
August 29, 2017
Barbara has been a good friend and neighbor. She was always a pleasure to visit. She was my Aunt Betty's best friend, they spent many happy days at the beach together.
Jean Larkin
August 29, 2017
Barbara was a wonderful teacher, colleague , guidance counselor and friend to so many. Thank you for all your kindness to my mother. We will all miss you.
Deborah Walsh-Varney
August 28, 2017
Deepest sympathy from the Walsh family.
Dana Clancy
August 28, 2017
Surely one of the finest teachers Stoughton ever presented to its young people---a gentle force whose influence is measured in lives and lives.
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