Barbara E. (Bonham) Stires Passed Away August 31, 2021
By the family
Sept. 9, 2021: Barbara E. (Bonham) Stires died peacefully on Tuesday, August 31, 2021 at Falmouth House at OceanView. She was 85 years old.
Born in Somerville, N.J., to Eleanor McMurtry Bonham and Robert D. Bonham, Barbara graduated from Somerville High School in 1954. In 1958, she received a bachelor of science from Drexel University and, in 1966, a master’s in adult education from Boston University. Barbara lived in Bronxville, N.Y., for 30 years before relocating to Orient N.Y., in 2002. In 2019, she moved to Falmouth.
An indelible spirit, Barbara devoted her career to helping others, raised two children as a single working mother, and somehow maintained a sense of humor and grace. She served as the executive director of the Elder Craftsmen, a non-profit organization devoted to helping older adults learn crafts and sell their handmade items through a retail shop in Manhattan. Barbara later served as the director of the Tuckahoe Senior Center in Tuckahoe, N.Y. She believed older adults were an underserved community and strived to help them live fruitful lives beyond the age of retirement.
Barbara had a zest for life and loved celebrations, especially holidays, birthdays, weddings, and parades. Wherever she lived, Barbara was a fixture at her town’s Fourth of July parade, which she attended late in life with her beloved pug, Elvis. She also loved reading, crossword puzzles, and gardening.
Barbara is survived by her children, Lindsey Zimmerman and husband Cary; David Stires and wife Deirdre; sister, Eleanor Bonham Witter and husband Ray; and numerous nieces, nephews, and friends.
The family thanks the wonderful staff at Falmouth House and Compassus Hospice for the loving care they provided to Barbara and her children, who were by her side, in her final days.
A celebration of Barbara’s life is being planned with a date and time to be announced. Cremation arrangements are in the care of Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Services of Buxton, where online condolences may be shared with her family at www.mainefuneral.com.
Donations in her memory may be made to:
Maine Audubon
20 Gilsland Farm Road
Falmouth, M.E. 04105
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