(February 9, 1934 – March 26, 2020)
Ann Thomasine Sheehan Barber, 86, of Sandwich, Andover and Natick Massachusetts, was born on February 9, 1934 to Ellen and Thomas Sheehan. She graduated from Natick High School in 1952 and Wheelock College in 1956 with a degree in early elementary education. In 1958, after a twelve year courtship, she married Donald Barber also of Natick.
Ann taught kindergarten and first grade in Princeton, New Jersey; Millis, Dover, Wellesley and Andover, Massachusetts; Trumbull, and Monroe, Connecticut; and Mt. Lebanon and Devon, Pennsylvania. While in Pennsylvania, Ann worked for Fred Rogers at Station WQED Pittsburgh as a consultant and puppeteer for the show Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.
Ann taught her students to champion the rights of the disabled and to respect others’ differences in race, religion, gender and politics. Her first love always was teaching children to read. She was also an accomplished ice skater, singer and piano player.
Ann is survived by daughter Bonnie, her husband Andy Hochberg, and their children, Mark and Liza Hochberg, all of Newton, Massachusetts. She also is survived by daughter Beth Lewellen of Bluff Dale, Texas and Beth’s children, State and Page Lewellen, Kanna and Robert Myers, and Lambra Lewellen, all of Texas. Ann is further survived by sisters in law Carol Lee Sheehan, Helen Barber, and many nieces, nephews, family and friends.
Ann was preceded in death by her husband Donald Barber, her parents, her brother Robert Sheehan, son in law Garry Lewellen, many sisters in law, brothers in law, and other family members and friends.
The family would like to thank the nurses and aides at Royal Cape Cod Nursing Home for their devotion and care to Ann throughout her long illness with Alzheimer’s disease. A private internment was held on Saturday, March 28th, at St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Natick, Massachusetts. Donations may be made in Ann’s memory to The Alzheimer’s Association, 309 Waverly Oaks Rd., Waltham, MA 02452, or to The Garry Lewellen Memorial Scholarship, Tarleton State University Foundation, Box T-0950, Stephenville, TX 76402, or to the charity of your choice.
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