Hanover, N.H. —
Born in upstate New York in 1924, Barbara was raised with her four brothers by her resilient mother, the subject of Barbara’s 2009 memoir Ella’s Daughter: My Mother, My Family, My Life. Her family is incredibly grateful that she wrote this inspiring recollection of a life well lived.
After growing up in Fulton, N.Y., Barbara joined the armed services at the tail end of World War II, working for the Naval Intelligence department in Washington DC before earning an A.B. degree from Syracuse University. She was an officer in the Navy before marrying and moving from post to post (Palo Alto, Calif. Springfield Va., Camp Lejeune N.C., and Quantico Va.) with her favorite Marine. Barbara and husband Foster came to Dartmouth and Hanover with their two young children in 1963, and she soon found herself juggling family life, volunteer activities, and part-time jobs. During that time, she edited two books for an arctic explorer, wrote articles for the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine and fund-raising proposals for a Dartmouth capital campaign, learned and taught skiing at Ford Sayre, headed the Fresh Air program, volunteered for the ABC (A Better Chance) program, and in 1974 graduated with the second Master of Arts of Liberal Studies class at Dartmouth.
In 1975 Barbara settled into a full-time job at Dartmouth Medical School. As the founding Director of Alumni Affairs, she established their first alumni program, raised annual and capital funds, and launched the alumni magazine, now Dartmouth Medicine. In 2011, her years of service to DMS and Dartmouth-Hitchcock were acknowledged with the dedication of the Barbara T. Blough Conference Room at the medical school.
After retiring in 1990, Barbara filled her days with community service with a wide array of Upper Valley institutions, a vocation that gave her great joy. She was a founding member of the Board of Directors of Outreach House; served as a Trustee of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon College and the Montshire Museum; and was President of the Board of Elders of the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College and President of the DHMC Auxiliary Board. A recipient of the Edith Amsden Award for excellence in volunteering, she and her late husband, Foster, were named the 2010 Outstanding Community Ambassadors for DMS/Dartmouth-Hitchcock.
While her accomplishments and contributions were many, friends and family will most cherish memories of Barbara as a devoted friend, a strong advocate for causes dear to her heart, and a witty conversationalist, Her surviving family — son Carter (Chip) and his wife Yvonne, daughter Diana and her husband Steve Geck, and beloved granddaughters Sonia and Marina Blough — remain inspired by her compassion for others and her boundless love of life.
Special thanks go to the wonderful circle of caretakers who supported Barbara in recent times: Linda Eickhoff, Darlene Dubuque, Vanessa Powers, Bobbie Hitchcock, Heather Huntley and all of the amazing team at Bayada, as well as the late, dearly missed Dale Kennedy.
A celebration of her life will be planned for a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Barbara’s name to the Prouty Race to raise cancer awareness (One Medical Drive, Lebanon, N.H. 03756), the Montshire Museum in Norwich, or the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College in Hanover.