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Posted Apr 14, 2025 | 8:18 AM
Barbara was born in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, on December 26, 1939. In 1956, her parents, Robert and Catherine (Kate) Marshall, relocated along with several of their seven children to Tweed, Ontario.
Barbara was active in Girl Guides from a young age and was awarded a medal of merit for rescuing two young children from a house fire. This says a lot about the girl she was and the woman she would become. Eventually she would move on to leadership roles within Brownies. Later, with two young boys, she would become active in fundraising and parent groups within the Boy Scouts.
Soon after moving to Ontario, Barbara relocated to Toronto, where she began her career working with the elderly. While she worked in various capacities, Activation became her passion, and she eventually returned to school at Centennial College to pursue this.
Barbara was also a talented musician who played in several Salvation Army bands. It was through this music that she met and married her devoted husband of 59 years, David, in 1966.
In 2008, Barbara and David moved to Brighton, Ontario. In her later years, she valiantly fought off several health issues including heart disease, two battles with breast cancer, and most recently, melanoma. It is heartbreaking that, after so many hard-won battles, it was a fall that suddenly and unexpectedly took her from us.
She is lovingly remembered by her husband, David; her sons, Ted and Donald; her daughter-in-law, Dana; and her cherished grandsons, Samuel and Isaac.
Barbara was one of seven siblings and is survived by her sisters, Elva Wilson (late husband Larry), and Joyce Marshall. She was predeceased by her siblings Ken, Gerald (Sue), Olive Sandgren, and Doris Taylor (late husband Robert). She is also survived by her sisters-in-law, Joyce Marshall and Cathie Bradley, and brothers-in-law, David Bradley and Orval Sandgren. Barbara was a beloved aunt who will be missed by her many nephews and nieces.
Her family was with her when she left us. When we said our good-byes, it was not our beautiful Barbara that was left behind, but simply the packaging that she came wrapped in. Barbara was, and will always be remembered as a kind, compassionate, and thoughtful soul. She touched so many lives and will be dearly missed, more than she could have ever imagined.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to either Sleeping Children Around the World, or The PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary. Both are charities that were particularly close to her heart.
A memorial will be planned, with time and location to be announced. In the meantime, remember her for her boundless love of friends and family, her joy in baking and a good long chat—and, of course, her absolute disdain for onions.