Grace Margaret Walsh Barrett of Branford died peacefully on Jan. 17 at Connecticut Hospice. Born on Feb. 13, 1930, to the late Grace and Jerome Walsh, Grace was raised in the Fair Haven section of New Haven. She attended St. Francis Elementary School and was a 1948 graduate of Hillhouse High. She received her bachelor’s degree in education from Connecticut State Teachers College (now Southern Connecticut State University) and taught 1st grade for one year at Clinton Avenue School in New Haven.
Though her professional career was brief, Grace discovered her true calling was that of wife and mother. She married Paul “Ned” Barrett in 1952, and the two shared a love story that spanned countries, continents, and decades. Grace and Ned traveled the world together, beginning with living in Germany during his stint in the Korean War. The two made their home in Massachusetts, where they started their family, moved to North Branford, then finally settled in Branford in 1963. Grace was mother to six children and is predeceased by her eldest, Paul Barrett, Jr. Grace was an example to her family during that devastating loss of what true faith, dignity, and strength are. These are the traits she carried throughout her life and were exemplified again when she quietly cared for her husband during his courageous battle with ALS.
Her devotion to faith, family, and community ran deep. In addition to being a devoted wife of 60 years, she made sure to have a unique relationship with each of her children. She was a communicant of St. Mary Church for 60 years and volunteered for the 15-year span that she had children attending St. Mary’s School. She was a lunch helper and a library aide and used her green thumb to run the Plant Booth for the St. Mary Christmas Bazaar. She taught CCD for more than 20 years, inspiring hundreds of Branford children. She found great joy in studying the Bible in her Women’s Bible Studies group. Grace was a lifelong learner, who was a passionate reader and avid history buff. She was the perfect partner for Ned, as both were filled with a love of knowledge and life experience.
Both were also filled with a strong sense of community. In addition to volunteering for St. Mary School and Church, Grace was a Friend of the Blackstone Library member who worked its book fair for many years, a lifelong Red Cross Blood Bank donor and volunteer, a member of Branford Women’s Club and St. Mary’s Ladies Guild, a scout leader and den mother, a driver for the Visiting Nurse Association, and a volunteer at Hospice.
Grace was a lifelong athlete who held the backstroke State Champion time in Connecticut for decades. She competed in bowling leagues and tennis tournaments. She took up golf later in life and, to the unabashed pride of her husband, achieved two holes-in-one at the Villages Golf Course in Florida.
While Grace made her home and served her community in Branford, she also had a deep love of Mansfield Grove in East Haven, where her parents raised their children in the summer. When Grace married Ned, he built a cottage next door to her parents’, and so they continued the tradition raising children in Mansfield Grove during the summers. Grace kept lifelong friends from the Grove, and it was her childhood summers there that instilled a deep love of the beach in her, a love she passed on to her children.
In addition to Mansfield Grove, Grace and Ned also had a home in Otis, Massachusetts, where the two would escape the world and have time for themselves. They wintered at The Villages in Florida for many years. Although Ned was always first in Grace’s heart, followed closely by her children and the Walsh family, she made time for her many friends through the Ramblewood Drive days, Pine Orchard Club events, church, sports, senior center, and bridge.
Grace lived an exceptional life filled with love and adventure. She truly lived up to her name; she was a woman of grace, elegance, and deep faith who exemplified devotion to family and service to community.
Grace leaves five of her six children, Peter (Jean) Barrett of Guilford, Judy Barrett of Branford, Janet Barrett of Branford, Megan (Brian) Cunningham of Branford, and Terry (Tara) Barrett of Branford. She also leaves behind her sister Jane Clark, sister-in-law Ann (Walt) Belske, brother-in-law Richard Dube, and cousin Tom Casey (Marge). Grace adored her 17 grandchildren, Courtney, Paul III, Connor, Kate, Maggie, Michael, J.P., Lauren, Grace, Peter, Kyle, Maeve, Casey, Bridget, Samantha, Shay, and Bohan. They will miss their dear Nana. She was also blessed with seven great-grandchildren and many cherished nieces and nephews. In addition to her beloved Ned and son Paul, she was predeceased by her brother and sister-in-law Donald and MaryJoy Walsh, her sister and brother-in-law Doris and Bill Keish, her sister-in-law Joan Dube,; and her granddaughter Caroline Barrett.
The family is grateful to the staff of the Hearth, where Grace lived the past two years; St. Raphael’s Hospital doctors and nurses; and the compassionate caregivers of Connecticut Hospice in Branford.
Her funeral left the W. S. Clancy Memorial Funeral Home, Branford, on Jan. 21 for a Mass of Christian Burial in St. John Bosco Parish at St. Mary Church, Branford. Burial followed in All Saints Cemetery, North Haven. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider donating to CT Hospice, 100 Double Beach Road, Branford, CT 06405. For her online memorial, see www.wsclancy.com.
