BEVERLY - Barbara Grigg Welsh, 99, passed peacefully on March 13, 2025 at Care Dimensions Hospice House in Lincoln, MA with family by her side.

Barbara was born on July 25,1925 and raised in Mt. Vernon, NY. She is the daughter of the late Marguerite Lovewell Grigg and Harry Kingsley Grigg, Sr.  A member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, Barbara graduate from Middlebury College, where she majored in English literature and achieved the high honor of Phi Beta Kappa. She participated in The Bread Loaf Writer's Conference in VT when Robert Frost was in attendance, and she always avowed it was one of the highlights of her life. From memory, she recited his poem, "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening," and many other poems up to the last days of her life.

At Middlebury, she met the love of her life and future husband, Maryland resident Jackson Oliver Welsh (d. 2016) who was enrolled in the Navy's Officer V-12 training program. At war's end, Jackson (Jack) transferred to Dartmouth College in NH. and their romance continued. They married in NY and Barbara went to work at Time magazine in the letters and research departments. She enjoyed her years at Time so much that she went back to work each time after the birth her first three children. Later, Barbara and Jack moved to Ridgefield, CT where she had her fourth child. Five years later, along with Barbara's mother and aunt, they moved to an historic farmhouse in Topsfield MA where their fifth and final child arrived. Barbara began teaching English and British Literature at Masconomet  Regional High School and stayed there until her last child graduated. During all those years, while working full-time, Barbara cooked for nine hungry souls every night, nurturing the family she loved. Coupled with her family responsibilities, Barbara was involved in many community activities in Topsfield: the garden club, conservation commission, historical society, girl scouts, and writing a column with her students for the local newspaper, The Tri-Town Transcript.

Barbara raised her five children with Jack and cared for her mother and aunt, while cultivating gardens and tending to the family's many animals. She was beloved by family, neighbors, and friends. Warm and gracious, a great cook and decorator, she opened her home and heart to all. In later years, she delighted in being a gallery instructor at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, leading school groups on tours and taking courses. She also was passionate about the theatre, symphony and opera, and would recite selections from the Canterbury Tales in Chaucerian English from memory. After Jack died, Barbara resided at The Herrick House where she received excellent care. She will always be remembered for her kindness, her intellect, her cheeriness, her nonjudgmental nature, her compassion for others, and love of life. Her family was her greatest joy.

Barbara was the loving sister to the late Harry Kingsley Grigg, Jr. She is survived by five children: Peter Welsh of Laguna Beach, Susan Welsh and husband Richard Mandelkorn of Lincoln MA, Sally Libby of San Diego; Jane Welsh and husband Pat Ahern of San Diego; and Rebecca Welsh and husband Christopher James of Dublin NH.

Barbara is also survived by six grandchildren, Benjamin, Emily (Paul), Alexandra, Elizabeth (Steve), Jackson (Mimi), and Suzanna (Grant), and two great grandchildren, with two more on the way, plus her beloved nieces and nephews.

ARRANGEMENTS: Barbara's family will celebrate her life privately. Assisting the family with the arrangements is O'Donnell Cremations - Funerals - Celebrations, 167 Maple St., (Rte. 62) DANVERS. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in honor of Barbara to Care Dimensions, 75 Sylvan St., (Suite B-102) Danvers, MA 01923 - on line at www.caredimensions.org or to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, c/o Development Office, 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115. online at : www.mfa.org/give. To share a memory or offer a condolence, please visit www.odonnellfuneralservice.com.

online at : www.caredimensions.org or to the the Museum of Fine Arts -

Care Dimensions
75 Sylvan St., Suite B-102, Danvers MA 01923
Web: https://www.caredimensions.org/

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
c/o Development Office, 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston MA 02115
Web: https://www.mfa.org/give