Barbara L. Baier Bartosenski ’58 (CAHNR)

On Sept. 30, 2022, Barbara Louise Bartosenski, 85, passed away peacefully at home with her loving husband, John, by her side. They had celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary with family three days earlier. Barbara was born Oct. 16, 1936, in New York City to William and Maude Baier. She grew up in Ridgefield Park, N.J., and graduated from high school as salutatorian of the Class of 1954. She was queen of the town’s Fourth of July Parade that same year. In 1958, Barbara graduated from the University of Connecticut and began her career as a physical therapist. It was during that period she met her future husband, John, at an airshow in Waterbury, Conn. They married a year later. The couple traveled to Texas for John’s pilot training, then back to New Jersey, where Barbara worked as a physical therapist at Hackensack Hospital. In Bedminster, N.J., she switched to being a full-time mother. When the family moved to Lamoine, Barbara joined the local woman’s club, where she helped make a square for the town’s bicentennial quilt. She loved to knit and sew, and she created many baby quilts for friends and family members. She served as town clerk from 1991-1997. Barbara was a captain in the Downeast Civil Air Patrol for a number of years; people enjoyed her apple and blueberry crisp at the Blue Hill Fair. She will be missed by many in the community. Her hobby was genealogy and she spent years researching the various family trees, mainly in Scotland (where she traced cousins whom she got to meet). Barbara loved traveling with her husband (who was a captain with United Airlines before he retired) to places like Antigua, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, England, Italy and France. They celebrated their 50th anniversary with a cruise to Alaska. Barbara was a good dancer and enjoyed the monthly gatherings of the Saturday Nighters. She also treasured the many years she spent with her family at their cabin on Lake Wassookeag. She loved being part of the yearly summer audience at Lakewood Theater, where she has a seat in her honor. She is survived by her husband, John; daughters Mary (Eric) Bowden of Orland and Anne (Larry) Nelson formerly of Guilford, Conn.; three grandchildren: John Nelson and Hope and Ian Bowden; her sister Jean Swaffer of Lake City, Mich.; and nieces Elizabeth (Russ) Emerson, Helen Emerson, Ruth-Ann Emerson and Katherine Noel. She was predeceased by her parents, and older brother William Baier. Cremation has already taken place with internment scheduled for the spring. The family would like to thank Northern Light Home Care and Hospice for their loving care of Barbara.