Barbara Joan Champine

SALEM - Barbara Joan Champine (née Nelson), 90, of Salem, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully at home on April 27, 2025, after a two-year battle with cancer.
Born in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1935 to Harold and Donna (Graham) Nelson-both teachers-Barbara experienced a childhood shaped by the Great Depression and World War II. As her parents pursued job opportunities, she and her sister Beverly moved frequently, living in a different Minnesota town each year and even spending a school year in Forks, Washington, before settling in Fairmont, Minnesota, when Barbara was in eighth grade.
In high school, Barbara was involved in sports and excelled academically. She joined the school newspaper, where she met her future husband, George Champine, the editor. Barbara attended Mankato Teacher's College for two years before transferring to the University of Minnesota, where she earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education. She and George married in 1956, settling first in Hopkins, Minnesota, before moving to Burnsville to raise their family.
Barbara was an active member of the Garden Club, worked at a preschool, and made many lifelong friendships in Minnesota, including those formed at a Methodist family camp, which she and George attended for 30 years. As empty nesters, the couple moved frequently, following George's work assignments to New Jersey, Texas, and Massachusetts.
Together, Barbara and George traveled extensively, with camping trips to Canada and most of the US National Parks, traveling to England, France, Italy, Sweden, and embarking on 27 cruises-including voyages to Alaska and through the Panama Canal. Barbara pursued genealogy research with great dedication, compiling records across New England, Canada, Sweden, and New York. She was an avid reader with broad interests, particularly in mysteries.
Barbara was exceptionally generous to her family, helping grandchildren with college expenses and offering thoughtful annual Christmas gifts to her children and grandchildren. In her final years, she found great joy in city life after moving to Salem, Massachusetts, where she walked daily to shops and restaurants, frequented the Salem Farmers Market, and explored Salem Common, the Ropes Mansion garden, Peabody Essex Museum, and other local landmarks.
Barbara was preceded in death by her beloved husband, George. She is survived by her sister Beverly and husband Charles Mittelstadt of Salt Lake City, UT; children Renee Olson, Mark Champine and his wife Lori, and Lisa Paton and her husband Mark Norman; and her beloved seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
ARRANGEMENTS: Barbara's remains will be taken to Minnesota to rest alongside her husband. There will be no local memorial service, but a bench will be placed in her name at Salem Common. Assisting the family with the arrangements is O'Donnell Cremations – Funerals – Celebrations, 84 Washington Sq., (at Salem Common) SALEM. To share a memory or offer a condolence, please visit www.odonnellfuneralservice.com.
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