Barbara E. (Kempton) Gardner

Barbara Evelyn Gardner(Kempton) passed away peacefully in Vancouver, WA on May 24th, 2018.

Barbara was born in Winthrop, MA on Feb 26th, 1928. Barbara spent her young life growing up in Winthrop, MA where she lived with her family. She developed a deep love of Horseback riding and Gardening that would last for her entire life.

Barbara graduated from Winthrop High School in 1945 and went to work for State Street Bank in Boston. As a young adult living in the Boston area she enjoyed going to Bruins and Red Sox games and traveling by train to NH on weekends and Holidays where she developed a love for the Lakes Region of NH. She eventually moved to Meredith NH and married John Wilbert “Jack” Rideout.

Jack and Barbara lived on Water Street in Meredith for many years. She had two boys and enjoyed life in Meredith raising the boys and enjoying the Lakes Region area. The family also had a summer cottage on Lake Winona and enjoyed many days of outdoor activities, hiking, boating and fishing during the summer months.

Barbara was involved in many community activities in Meredith from Cub Scouts to Garden Clubs and church activities. She enjoyed watching the boys grow and play sports, often traveling around the state to watch Soccer Games or Basketball Games in all sorts of weather. She and her husband Jack supported the boys to participate in all the many activities available to them. Barbara’s cakes, pies and cookies were famously enjoyed by many of the Water Street neighborhood kids. She always enjoyed the speed with which a new cake would disappear when the kids were around.

Barbara worked at several local Meredith businesses over the years including Chases Restaurant and Annalee Dolls. She was one of the 1st employees at Annalee Dolls and eventually worked as a Purchasing Agent for the company.

After the passing of her husband, John Wilbert “Jack” Rideout in 1971, she remained in the Meredith area for several years. Eventually she re-married to Delmar Tutt, retired and moved to Wolfeboro, NH. She and Del lived for many years in Wolfeboro where she enjoyed a large garden with both flowers and vegetables. She and Del enjoyed hiking, hunting and various outdoor activities and excursions in the New England area. After the passing of Delmar Tutt she remained in the Wolfeboro area.

After several years as a widow, she met and married Robert Gardner. Barbara and Robert enjoyed traveling together and took several trips to Scotland as well as trips to visit family in North Carolina, California and Washington. Barbara and Robert enjoyed many visits from their large and growing families.

After the passing of Robert Gardner, Barbara remained in Wolfeboro for several years until she moved to Vancouver, WA to live with her youngest son, James Rideout and his family. She spent several comfortable and content years in Vancouver, eventually moving to The Hampton Home at Salmon Creek very close to family, where she passed away peacefully.

Barbara is survived by her sisters, Dorothy Ehrenberg (Kempton) of Coshocton, Ohio and Janet Morehead (Kempton) and her husband, Dave of Plymouth, NH and her brother, Robert Kempton and his wife, Beverly of Alton, NH. She is also survived by her youngest son, James Rideout and his wife Lynette of Vancouver, WA. Her oldest son, John Winston “Jack” Rideout passed away in Feb of 2017. She is also survived by her daughter in law Carolyn Rideout of Meredith, NH. Her grandchildren, Bethany VanHoose and her husband, Josh and son Nolan of Laconia NH, and Brittany Kirsch and her husband, Tim of Lodi, NJ, Stefanie Torres and Jeffrey Rideout of Vancouver, WA. Barbara also had many nieces and nephews.

A graveside service in Meredith, NH will be held on Thursday July 5th, 2018 at 10:00 am at the Meredith Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please make contributions in the memory of Barbara E. Gardner to the Dementia Society of America by mail to, PO Box 600, Doylestown, PA 18901 or online at;

https://www.dementiasociety.org/donate

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Barbara E. (Kempton) Gardner, please visit our floral store.