MIDDLEBURY - Barbara Brown Barnett, 96, died on October 8, 2010, at Helen Porter Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Middlebury, VT, surrounded by her loving family, both in person and in spirit, and her wonderfully attentive caregivers. She was born on February 22, 1914, in Syracuse, New York, to Oscar J. Brown and Mary Mott Brown. She attended local schools in her hometown of Baldwinsville, New York and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Syracuse University where she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta Sorority. She joined the League of Women Voters in 1934 and she continued to be an active and involved member of the League for over seventy years, serving on the board and as President from 1945 to 1948. Following her degree from Syracuse, Barbara earned a Masters of Arts degree in international relations from Clark University at Worcester, MA. She then moved to Albany, NY, where she worked for the New York Civil Service Commission. Barbara married Vincent M. Barnett, Jr. of Cambridge, MA, on June 24, 1939 at her family home in Baldwinsville, NY. They lived in Williamstown, MA, where Vince began teaching at Williams College as an Instructor of Political Science. Barbara joined the Williamstown League of Women Voters; was an active member of the Garden Club; and became a Brownie leader even before she had children of her own. From 1941 to 1977, she and her husband alternated years at Williams College with tours of duty in Washington, D.C., Italy, Malaysia and Egypt as well as six years at Colgate University in Hamilton, NY. Barbara was a founder and the first president of the Parent-Teachers Association for the Overseas School of Rome from 1951 to 1953. She also served on the board of directors of Mt. Greylock Regional High School in Williamstown. She and Vince were both active on the local Democratic Committee and at one point were delegates to the Massachusetts Democratic Convention. Barbara volunteered her services as a monitor for the Williamstown chapter of Recording for the Blind for roughly twenty years. She loved to entertain, was an avid gardener and bird-watcher, and particularly enjoyed having her family around her. Barbara was predeceased by her husband of 67 years on February 11, 2006. She leaves her five children: Peter and his wife Chase Barnett of Monson, MA; Deborah Venman and her husband, Bill Kenerson, of Middlebury, VT; Stephen Barnett of Burlington, VT; Mary Barnett of Starksboro, VT; and Wendy and her husband, Patrick Barnett-Mulligan of Chatham, NY; fourteen grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and thirteen nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren. She is also survived by her two sisters; Olive Hoffman of Rochester, NY, and Wilfreda Stone of Watertown, NY. Barbara was predeceased by her brother, Oscar J. Brown III, who died in Burma in 1943 during World War II; her sister Helen Wright, who died in 1990; and four nephews. Barbara's family wishes to give special thanks to her doctors, Diana Barnard and Will Porter, and nurse practitioner, Leslie Orlup, for their expertise, sensitivity and guidance, and is particularly grateful for the loving care she received from the nurses and aides on Lemon Fair Lane at Helen Porter Healthcare for the past two and a half years. Barbara also greatly enjoyed her visits from Margie Bekoff, Helen Porter's harp therapist, whose music was a comforting and soothing source of reminiscence and peace. FUNERAL NOTICE: In lieu of flowers, gifts in Barbara's memory can be made to the Harp Therapy Program, Helen Porter Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, c/o Nancy Schaedel, 30 Porter Drive, Middlebury, Vermont 05753. In keeping with Barbara's wishes, there will be no calling hours or funeral. A brief graveside service for family and friends will be held at Westlawn Cemetery on West Main Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts, on October 30 at 11:30 a.m., followed by a light luncheon and informal gathering celebrating Barbara's life at Mezze's Bistro, 1½ miles south of Field Park on Route 7 on the righthand side. Arrangements are by Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna Home for Funerals, West Chapels, 521 West Main Street, North Adams, Massachusetts 02147. Her family invites you to share your favorite memories of Barbara and online condolences at www.legacy.com/obituaries/berkshire