BARBARA (GOULSON) ARCENEAUX, age 93, of Charleston, WV, passed away on October 5, 2025, at Edgewood Summit.
She was born in Lowell, MA, on July 10, 1932, to Mary Madeline O'Hare Goulson and Walter Seth Goulson.
She is survived by her two sons, Webster Joseph III and his wife Camille, of Charleston, and Walter Seth and his wife Denise, of Portland, OR; six grandchildren, Michelle Proops (Kenny) of Charleston, Rebecca Miller (Dan) of Haddonfield, NJ, and Joseph Arceneaux of Cleveland, OH, and Kellie Arceneaux of Los Angelos, CA, Holly Dorrance (Bryce) of Alexandria, VA, and Sydney Arceneaux, in Portland; and four great-grandchildren, Liam and Benett Proops of Charleston and Avery and Tommy Miller of Haddonfield.
Barbara lived her early years in Rhode Island and Weston, MA, where she graduated from Weston High School. She received her degree from Boston University in 1954. She married Webb Arceneaux in 1955. ln 1956, she and her husband moved to Charleston, where Webb worked for Union Carbide and she raised her two sons. She was also active in the Woman's Club of Charleston and American Association of University Women (AAUW). In 1977, they were transferred to Jacksonville, FL. After additional transfers to North Carolina and New Jersey, Webb retired in 1993 and they moved to Seven Lakes, NC, where she was active in AAUW and belonged to several bridge clubs.
In 2015, she and Webb moved back to Charleston to live at Edgewood Summit and be close to family. She spent her time at Edgewood Summit playing bridge, attending movies and other activities before she moved to the Memory Unit at the Arthur B. Hodges Center in 2020. In 2024 she was moved to the Skilled Nursing Unit and was a hospice patient. Webb passed in January of this year, which would have been the 70th year of their marriage. She was an active member of Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral.
Barbara will be greatly missed by her family and friends.
The family would like to express their special thanks and appreciation for their excellent care to all the staff, nurses and doctors at the Memory Unit and Skilled Nursing Unit at the Arthur B. Hodges Center and the Hospice nurses who regularly visited her these past months. We also would like to thank all of the staff at Edgewood Summit who helped Barbara over the years.
A Mass will be held at 11 a.m. on October 28, 2025, at the Multi-Purpose Room at Edgewood Summit, with a reception in her honor at the Library area to immediately follow.
In keeping with her wishes, her body will be cremated and a private entombment will be held at a later date in the Mount Olivet Mausoleum in Charleston.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to Catholic Charities West Virginia, Rea of Hope, or WV Health Right.
Condolences may be sent to the family at
www.barlowbonsall.com.
Barlow Bonsall Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.
Published by Charleston Gazette-Mail on Oct. 11, 2025.